The Officialish FOFC Weight Loss Dynasty

[AnalBumCover]

There are a couple of weight loss dynasties in this forum, as well as other health-conscious dynasties such as Mizzou's Quitting Smokeless dynasty and Radii's No-Soda dynasty. Well, I'd like to join in on the fun with my own weight loss journal. But instead of it being my own dynasty, I'll open it up to everyone who'd like to participate and post their own progress.

I know it's already being done at SirFozzie (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=52030)'s and duckman (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=48378)'s dynasties (and I mean no disrespect to them), but with this "The Officialish FOFC Weight Loss Dynasty" there can finally be a nexus where those with a desire to lose weight can visit - a support group, if you will.

Anyways, my story: In almost exactly one year from today, I'll be standing at the altar watching my beautiful bride walk down the aisle toward me. With that vision in my head, I have given myself a reason to start my own weight loss program and become a more health-conscious person so I can start my new chapter in life as a healthy and lean man.

Here are my stats as of Monday morning: I'm only 5'5" and weigh 220.0 lbs. I have a digital weighing scale that provides body fat percentage so I'll be updating my progress with that as well (currently 30% :eek: ).

I'll be weighing myself every Monday and Friday mornings - I chose these days for the following reasons: Friday to show how I progressed after a regular work-week, and then Monday to see the effects from over the weekend (where more social activities may disrupt my eating habits).

So, my one-year goal is to get myself to under 200 lbs. Ideally closer to 190. And dammit, cut that body fat to under 20%!

Sept 4, 2006 weigh-in: 220.0 lbs, 30% body fat.

And thus begins my journey. I can't wait to hear yours!

[SirFozzie]

I've been sick the weekend, so haven't been able to work out.

[Greyroofoo]

I just though I'd move this away from SirFozzie's thread...


I'm in the process of losing weight too. I'm 5'3 I went from weighing almost 170 in April down to 150 w/ on and off dieting and exercising. My goal right now is to get my weight down to under 140 and get a perfect 100 on the Air Force PT Test. I passed my last one in April, but I'm rather dissapointed in my score.

Positive Things I've done :

1. Eat a lot healthier. I used to eat/drink a lot of coke, nachos, red meat, ice cream, Doritos, and fried food. My diet now consists of lots of salad (no dressing, some cheese, crutons, and cherry tomatoes), plenty of apples and bananas, and some pasta. My meats usually include grilled chicken or baked fish. Also turkey sandwiches.

2. Weigh myself EVERY day. It keeps my weight on my mind thus making it easier for me to be more conscious of what I eat.

3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. I try to run at least 3 miles 3 days a week at minimum. Currently it takes me about 33 minutes to do so. I also do a variety of bike and elliptical machine to shake things up. I also play ultimate frisbee w/ coworkers (so lots and LOTS of running while doing that).

4. Do "Pushup Cards" at work 3 times a day. The premise is simple, I draw 3 cards from a deck and I do the number thats on the card (Aces are 15, Jokers 25). Diamond cards mean diamond pushups. Spades mean clapping pushups. If I don't get at least 20 pushups, I draw another card until I have at least 20.

5. Drink lots of water. Rarely will you find me w/o a cup or bottle of water around.


My Vices:

1. I am a weekend alcoholic as any reader of the Ping: Drunk Guy thread probably knows. Alcohol generally has a lot of calories. I have reduced my drinking but I don't forsee eliminating it completely anytime soon.

2. Occasional splurges. I'm a sucker for PapaJohn's pizza and that stuff is horribly loaded with calories. I have read that splurging occasionally is good since it keeps your body from adjusting to a low-calorie diet and thus slowing your metabolism.

3. Motivation. I admit I probably could get diagnosed for depression and sometimes I wonder why I'm even trying to lose weight and get more fit. Just gotta keep a good attitude.

4. Weight-Lifting. I want to get more muscle, but I hate lifting weights. I at least on a treadmill I can watch sports or the news. Weightlifting at the gym does not afford me that opportunity.


Right now I use WeightTracker to keep track of my weight. I personally like seeing how my weight is changing over time.

[AnalBumCover]

Welcome SirFozzie and Greyroofoo! Glad to see your participation in this thread.

It's Friday morning, and time for my first official weigh-in. Since my first post, I've been more concsious on what foods I take in. For the most part, I cook my own dinners so it's easy for me to control what I make and how much. Any left over, I take to work for lunch.

I've cut out sodas from my regular intake, but I did manage to sneak in a diet 7-up for dinner last night - the only one for the week. I add Splenda to my coffee, with non-dairy creamer. Having to wake up at 4:30am for an early workday, I can't cut out my coffee.

I haven't started an exercise regimen just yet. But I'll be putting something together to fit my schedule and lifestyle. Like Greyroofoo, I too have a motivation issue to overcome.

With that said, my Friday Morning Progress Report.

09/08/06: 217.6 lbs (-2.4 lbs), 31% body fat (+1%)

A little reminder to myself: Exactly one year from today (09/08/07) I will be married. Speaking of getting married, my good friend's wedding is this weekend, so it'll be interesting to see on Monday morning how I came out.

[Greyroofoo]

What's an easy way to find out your body fat?

[PilotMan]

Well this seems as good a place as any for me to be. Ever since highschool ended (13yrs ago) I have slowly been watching my weight go up. I have been an on and off again dieter, losing 30 lbs here only to gain it back and more. I have always been a big guy, but lately it seems like it is much harder to hide despite my large frame.

Obviously in my career health is important as I need to maintain it to keep my job. However, my job leads to a very sedentary lifestyle and you have to really work to keep the weight off. Late this summer I got an eye exam and the doctor suggested that I get my cholesterol checked. My visit to the doctor confirmed that at the very least my BP was too high for someone my age, so at the age of 31, I realized that I needed to make a commitment to myself and my family. That was about 5 weeks ago. Then I was 6'4" and 277lbs.

Since then I have worked very hard to change my diet. I have begun a regular exercise program and have met with a personal trainer a couple of times to get a good program. I find Mens Health magazine to be invaluable, and I have a strong desire to be healthy for my family and myself. Something both of my parents need to work harder at, so my genes are working against me as well. Additionaly, I am at the begininig of a new indoor soccer season. I couldn't believe how out of shape I really was until that first game. I was disgusted with myself.

I weighed a few days ago and I was 260lbs. I have been sick this week so my exercise plan has been off, hopefully I can get back soon. My goal is to be healthy, a good role model for my kids and a sexy man that my wife can't resist. I figure that I will need to get down at least into the 220's if not lower. I will not be deterred and I will not quit.

All day long I see people in my job, and the one thing that sticks out is how incredibly fat they all are. So many of the guys I work with are the same way. That will not be me anymore. Good luck guys I am here with you.

ABC that is great motivation, congrats!

[biological warrior]

I'll be looking forward to this. As for motivation March I weighed a whopping 217 lbs (a surprise to me during weigh in) I went I then went into a 6 month plan of ruck marches, running and less heavy lifting. As of today Im down to 178 lbs, with pics being updated on my space. My goal for the end of Sept is to get to 168-170 range. Good luck..

[Icy]

Ok count on me, i was going to start my own about losing weight and to recover the shape i had when i was 18 years old (i'm 31 now) but probably to do it in group will motivate us more. I start in the Gym today, in fact i'm going in 5 minutes, so i'll post my weight loss and sports goals once i get back.

[biological warrior]

Its all in the motivation....were all in it together, oh we should also take pictures of our progresses.

[Icy]

Its all in the motivation....were all in it together, oh we should also take pictures of our progresses.

I thought on it, but i think the thread could look a bit weird full of fat guys on underwear :)

[Icy]

Ok, i'll write now my plans:

Starting point:

I'm 31 years old, 5'11" and 215 pounds. I'm a big man, with muscled shoulders, arms and chest thanks to lots of heavy lifting years ago, but covered with fat after years of just working with a computer and doing zero exercise.

Past year i started this same plan, i wanted to lose that weight before my baby was born. Went ot the gym, ran twice per week and eat less, lowering my carbs and raising the proteins. I managed to lose 15 pounds, but after my baby died i lost all my motivation, left the gym, stopped to run and started to eat as before, because that i gained that 15 pounds again. I'm motivated now and want to start again.

The goal:

My goal is to reach a weight of 180 pounds (loosing 35) and also recover the muscled body and form i had on my twenties. I had a nice body and could run for 90 minutes at low pace without it being a really big effort. In the past, it was also so easy to gain muscle for me, but fighting to keep the fat levels low. I'm not a guy who eats shit between the meals, i don't eat chocolate, sweets or unhealthy stuff but when i sit to eat... i have no finish. I expend also around 12 hours sitting in front of a computer and it doesn't help a lot.

The workouts:

I have started today in the gym again. Started running 1.5 Miles in the running machine, it took me around 15 minutes. I was sweating a lot but not so tired, the breathing was not exagerated. It looks that after not running in 5 months (i did from time to time, but without any consistency), i still keep part of the form.

After that, i started weight lifting. I tried to do it with low weigh as i know that you can be really sore after a heavy training session when you are not used, but probably i used too much and i can feel how sore will be tomorrow. It's hard to use low weight when you have trained in the past and you could use way more, my brain wanted to challenge me all the time, telling me i could use more weight. I did one exercise, for each part of the upper body (not legs as i ran before). I used basic exercises and will keep doing it for a month until i recover part of the form ang stop to feel sore.

Here is the table i have set myself for the first month, will do it 3 days per week:

Warming up and aerobics:
2 miles running in the running machine (16 minutes or so).

Chest:
Bench press 4x10

Back:
Front Lat Pulldown in machine 4x10

Shoulders:
Military press 2x10
Lateral Raise 2x10

Arms:
Barbell Curl 3x10
Triceps Pushdown in machine 3x10

Abs:
Ab Crunch Machine 3x20
Barbell Side Bend 1x50
Crunches 3x20

Once i get the shape again, i'll split the body parts.

I'll go the gym 3 days per week and will go out for running 2 days per week, resting the other 2 days of the week. The outside running routine will start with 3 miles per session, slow, like at 10 minutes per mile, if needed will walk part of those 3 miles. As i said before, it will be twice per week.

The diet:

During this first month i'm not going to cut carbs a lot as i want to get in shape and my muscles need to recover from the effort. I'll just start to lower the amount of food i put on my plate and for dinner i'll eat a salad with vegetables, eggs and tuna the days i don't workout at the gym and a protein shake plus the salad the days i workout. The only suplement i'll use is the proteins shake with 95% protein (no carbs) as a good way to raise my protein levels, needed to grow muscle but without adding a lot of calories.

[biological warrior]

I'll be looking forward to this. As for motivation March I weighed a whopping 217 lbs (a surprise to me during weigh in) I went I then went into a 6 month plan of ruck marches, running and less heavy lifting. As of today Im down to 178 lbs, with pics being updated on my space. My goal for the end of Sept is to get to 168-170 range. Good luck..

Om a shade over 5'6'' and 178 lbs. back in March I weighed 217 lbs and had to wear size 38-40 pants, now I can fit comfortably in 34's, and can squeeze into a size 32.
:)

[Lorena]

Great idea AnalBumCover! I was gonna jump on either duckman or SirFozzie's dynasty but it didn't feel right... kinda felt like I was crashing a party or something, so I hope you guys don't mind if I join your Weigh Loss Dynasty.

My Story
I'm 32 years old and grew up being very thin, but after moving out of my parent's house (when I was around 20ish) and on my own, I went crazy with burgers and pizza and all the high carb foods and naturally, started gaining. After having 2 kids, I gained even more and now, I'm about 70 lbs overweight.

My Plan
I've lost a good amount of weight following a low carb diet and will continue to do so. If anyone is interested, I have tons of information on the South Beach Diet and which foods are "legal" during certain phases and whatnot.

My workouts
I'm really bad when it comes to working out, but I'll attempt to go walking with my 2 year old around the neighborhood for about an hour and a half and sneak in a cardio workout. If I get a chance, go to the gym at our apt complex and workout my arms mostly.

Stats
Starting weight: 194.4
Goal Weight: 125

Goal
To lose 70 lbs a year (averages out to about 1.5 lb loss a week), drink more water, and watch my portion control.

Good luck everyone!

Edit: I'm posting my before pic (taken today)
http://almarks.com/apicaday/dynastypic090906.jpg

[Logan]

I'll jump in on this as well.

Background: About 3-4 years ago, I was at my highest weight of 330 lbs (I'm about 5'10"). With some hard work (and during college, it's even harder with the poor eating conditions and the excessive drinking), I dropped about 130 lbs. I never got fully below the 200 mark, but I was right around it. By the time I graduated a year and a half ago, I was probably around 210. Once I started working, I slooowwwwly felt myself adding some extra pounds, as my exercise basically only consisted of walking around the city.

Recently I felt my work clothes getting a little tighter. Got back on the scale and it read 234.5 (granted it was at night, so it was probably a little inflated...but god damn, not nearly as much as I wish it was). That was on Monday night (9/4...my 23rd birthday). So starting Tuesday, my diet began.

The plan: Thinking about it logically, it's easy to see how I've put on weight. I've simply been eating too much. I would eat a Weight Watchers bagel for breakfast (with margarine and a slice of 2% milk american cheese) everyday. I would usually have some sort of granola bar in mid-morning and again mid-afternoon. That was along with a lunch that was way unhealthier than what I should be having (ie turkey sandwich and a bag of baked chips/pretzels). When I got home from work, since I was so hungry, I would have some other kind of snack before dinner (which are usually fairly healthy meals). Then after dinner, it was another snack. So it's very easy to see that I was eating too much. Even worse, I was eating because I was hungry, not because I was stuffing myself unnecessarily. So my appetite had grown. Bad news.

Exercise: I hate lifting weights. I just find it very boring, so therefore, I lose interest. When I lost weight before, my primary method of exercise was the bike at the gym. I don't think I'll be joining a gym again, as it would be hard for me to get there after work. About a year ago, I bought one of those stand-up heavy punching bags that you can fill in with sand or water (to a weight of about 350-400 lbs, so it's sturdy). It's great exercise, as it works a lot of muscles, and I sweat like a pig when I use it. I enjoyed it, but I started having to go out of town for work, so when I came back, I lost my rhythm and eventually lost interest.

The plan: My diet has already changed. Same breakfast, one granola bar per day, smaller lunch (like I described above), nothing before dinner, and most importantly, nothing after dinner. When I lost all that weight a few years ago, I attributed the "no eating after dinner" to be the biggest reason for the weight drop.

I've followed the above diet since Tuesday and have had good results. The first couple days, I was STARVING at times. But that gradually faded away as my stomach got more accustomed to it. Now, I'm back on the schedule where I can basically go from meal to meal without being hungry. And so far, I haven't eaten past dinner. I've also gone back to hitting the punching bag for a half hour at a time, and I've done it for 3 of 4 days (get pretty sore doing it). The plan is to keep this up.

The goal: Right now, the plan is to go on a cruise with my girlfriend in April. And I know I'm way too chunky to do that right now. Therefore, I'm going to set a 6 month goal of 195 lbs. 40 lbs in 6 months is reasonable based on how I've lost weight in the past, but I know it will be tough when it gets to the last pounds.

Stats

Start: 234.5 lbs (9/4/06)
Current: 230.5 lbs (9/9/06)
Goal: 195 lbs (3/4/06)

[biological warrior]

I just though I'd move this away from SirFozzie's thread...


I'm in the process of losing weight too. I'm 5'3 I went from weighing almost 170 in April down to 150 w/ on and off dieting and exercising. My goal right now is to get my weight down to under 140 and get a perfect 100 on the Air Force PT Test. I passed my last one in April, but I'm rather dissapointed in my score.

Positive Things I've done :

1. Eat a lot healthier. I used to eat/drink a lot of coke, nachos, red meat, ice cream, Doritos, and fried food. My diet now consists of lots of salad (no dressing, some cheese, crutons, and cherry tomatoes), plenty of apples and bananas, and some pasta. My meats usually include grilled chicken or baked fish. Also turkey sandwiches.

2. Weigh myself EVERY day. It keeps my weight on my mind thus making it easier for me to be more conscious of what I eat.

3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. I try to run at least 3 miles 3 days a week at minimum. Currently it takes me about 33 minutes to do so. I also do a variety of bike and elliptical machine to shake things up. I also play ultimate frisbee w/ coworkers (so lots and LOTS of running while doing that).

4. Do "Pushup Cards" at work 3 times a day. The premise is simple, I draw 3 cards from a deck and I do the number thats on the card (Aces are 15, Jokers 25). Diamond cards mean diamond pushups. Spades mean clapping pushups. If I don't get at least 20 pushups, I draw another card until I have at least 20.

5. Drink lots of water. Rarely will you find me w/o a cup or bottle of water around.


My Vices:

1. I am a weekend alcoholic as any reader of the Ping: Drunk Guy thread probably knows. Alcohol generally has a lot of calories. I have reduced my drinking but I don't forsee eliminating it completely anytime soon.

2. Occasional splurges. I'm a sucker for PapaJohn's pizza and that stuff is horribly loaded with calories. I have read that splurging occasionally is good since it keeps your body from adjusting to a low-calorie diet and thus slowing your metabolism.

3. Motivation. I admit I probably could get diagnosed for depression and sometimes I wonder why I'm even trying to lose weight and get more fit. Just gotta keep a good attitude.

4. Weight-Lifting. I want to get more muscle, but I hate lifting weights. I at least on a treadmill I can watch sports or the news. Weightlifting at the gym does not afford me that opportunity.


Right now I use WeightTracker to keep track of my weight. I personally like seeing how my weight is changing over time.

The shitty thing is that I failed my first APFT (IN MY 6 YEAR CAREER) in March. Scored perfect on PU with 83 reps in 2 min, and nearly perfect on SU with 74 in 2 min but the run got me. I scored 18 44 on the 2 mile run. Well above my normal 14 30-15 3 run time. Right now Im at 1645 (passing) but I want to get back in good shape so I can go to BNCOC and get my Rockers.

[SirFozzie]

I'll join here.


Been sick most of the week, did some working out midweek, but that was it, so I really dreaded stepping on the treadmill..

However, the news was good, I'm down to 308 (down 13 since 8/21 when I started), and within 8 pounds of my first goal weight (300)

[Lorena]

I'll join here.


Been sick most of the week, did some working out midweek, but that was it, so I really dreaded stepping on the treadmill..

However, the news was good, I'm down to 308 (down 13 since 8/21 when I started), and within 8 pounds of my first goal weight (300)

13 lbs in 3 weeks is fantastic! Keep doing what you're doing and you'll get there in no time. I like the idea of setting mini-goals until we reach our desired weight. Seeing it as several 10 lb losses as opposed to one big 70 lb chunk seems so much easier.

[Lorena]

So umm... will anyone else be posting pics? I kinda dreaded posting my true weight and then a pic, but felt like I had to as a sort of motivation. I'm planning on posting my progress on a weekly basis and posting a pic on a monthly basis to see results.

[SirFozzie]

I might.. no promises though.

[biological warrior]

So umm... will anyone else be posting pics? I kinda dreaded posting my true weight and then a pic, but felt like I had to as a sort of motivation. I'm planning on posting my progress on a weekly basis and posting a pic on a monthly basis to see results.

I will definately be posting a pic on My Space and here once I figure out how to.

[finketr]

I'm participating in this...

Was
March 2003: 335 lbs
July 9, 2003: 297 lbs (pre-back injury 7/9/03)
October 1, 2003: 265 lbs - amazing what not being able to snack while playing games/watching tv does for your diet.

Since then: Hovered around 259 (YEAH!!) - 269 for almost 3 years but now fluctuating between

Currently 6'3", 276 lbs and fluctuating between 269-281lbs currently. A trip to Europe in April killed my diet and exercise plans and it's been a pain to get back into the swing of things wiht a brutally hot summer.

Goal:
1. Maintain in the 250s by End of the year (December 2006).
2. Maintain the 230s by April, 07.
3. More importantly: loss of inches in the waist for clothes sizing. If i have to buy a new wardrobe because everything is too big, excellent.

i think i'll work on a picture or two.

--tim

[Logan]

13 lbs in 3 weeks is fantastic! Keep doing what you're doing and you'll get there in no time. I like the idea of setting mini-goals until we reach our desired weight. Seeing it as several 10 lb losses as opposed to one big 70 lb chunk seems so much easier.

When I lost a lot of weight a few years ago, I think one of the things that really helped is that, since I was at school, I only weighed myself when I went home (about once a month since I was 25 mins away). So I was seeing my weight drop in about 10 lb increments. I think one of the ways people get off their plan (and this is something that happened to me) is that they weigh themselves daily, and don't see the progress. Or with one bad week where they don't lose anything, or even gain a couple, they get discouraged and fall off.

So umm... will anyone else be posting pics? I kinda dreaded posting my true weight and then a pic, but felt like I had to as a sort of motivation. I'm planning on posting my progress on a weekly basis and posting a pic on a monthly basis to see results.

Well I wouldn't mind, but I don't really have a recent pic that would be good for this. But you shouldn't worry. Don't you have a husband on this board?

[TargetPractice6]

I started my own weight loss plan at the end of last October. I'm 5'11" and at the time I weighed 215 pounds. In the previous year before that I weighed as much as 240 pounds at times.

In October I started mainly cutting out most of the junk food I used to eat. Just cutting back on what I ate allowed me to lose 20 pounds or so over the course of the next two months.

In January of this year I started jogging 3-4 times a week. I'd always tried to incorporate excerise into my lifestyle, but I found it difficult to stay with most routines I tried. However, I found I enjoyed running and it made an absolutely huge difference. Over time I got to the point where I was running two miles almost everyday over the summer.

Since I started running I've been able to get my weight down to 165 pounds, which was my goal starting out. Physical activity is really the key to weight loss (even moreso than diet in my opinion). Once I started running I could eat substantially more and still continued to lose weight. Not having to deal with constant hunger pains definitely allowed me to succeed when previous attempts to lose weight had failed. So I strongly recommend to people that are trying to drop a few pounds to try out different activities. If you find one that you enjoy and can stick with it will definitely help you reach your goal.

[Greyroofoo]

Just a little update:

My weekend was terrible in terms of weight-loss, as a combination of beer, pizza and lack of exercise is never good.

I weighed myself tonight and I was a dissapointing 152.4, although that was in sweaty gym clothes. I ran 3 miles in 31:47. Running is my weak point and I'm really trying to improve there.

I would post a picture of myself but I don't really have any good pictures to post.

[AnalBumCover]

Wow... I'm encouraged by all this participation. This is great!

Well, I missed my Monday morning weigh-in because I was running late for work. Probably a good thing I didn't see the result of a weekend full of gluttonous activity. My friend got married on Saturday... with a buffet-style reception dinner, open bar, and a seven-course rehearsal dinner at a Chinese restaurant, I was far from being the model dieter. Aside from the alcohol, I did keep the food intake under control by taking only small portions and passing on the wedding cake.

I'll have my weigh-in on Tuesday morning and post my results.

[biological warrior]

Wow... I'm encouraged by all this participation. This is great!

Well, I missed my Monday morning weigh-in because I was running late for work. Probably a good thing I didn't see the result of a weekend full of gluttonous activity. My friend got married on Saturday... with a buffet-style reception dinner, open bar, and a seven-course rehearsal dinner at a Chinese restaurant, I was far from being the model dieter. Aside from the alcohol, I did keep the food intake under control by taking only small portions and passing on the wedding cake.

I'll have my weigh-in on Tuesday morning and post my results.

You arent the only one there. I've also loaded up on lots of beer, and filipino food such as pancit, kare kare, adobo, lechon and ube cakes.... Im gonna have to purge the next week.

[AnalBumCover]

You arent the only one there. I've also loaded up on lots of beer, and filipino food such as pancit, kare kare, adobo, lechon and ube cakes.... Im gonna have to purge the next week.
Mmmmmm... lechon.... *drool*

Really quick, since I'm really busy at work. Tuesday morning weigh-in:

09/12/06: 217 lbs (-3.0 lbs), 30% body fat (-0%)

[Icy]

Tuesday morning update:
09/12/06: 213 lbs (-2.0 lbs)

Both on Saturday and yesterday i went at the gym and followed my diet plans since i posted it in Saturday, eating less food for lunch and eating a salad and a protein shake for dinner. I ate well today too, but have a dinner with friends tonight at home, will be a good test of how can i keep my motivation and to avoid to eat a lot. If i have time before they come, i'll go out to run at least 2 miles but i must admit i'm so sore after two days at the gym (resting one in the middle, Sunday).

[Lorena]

I started the South Beach Diet and so far, so good. Our daughter turned 6 this weekend and it took every ounce of my being to pass up on the carrot cake. God, I love the stuff man, but once I have some, I'll end up eating more.

I will definately be posting a pic on My Space and here once I figure out how to.

Copy your picture's link, come back to the message field and click on the yellow icon with what seems to look like a mountain (if you put your mouse over it, it should say "Insert Image") and paste your link, click ok.

Don't you have a husband on this board?

Yeah, my husband is Antmeister.

[Ksyrup]

OK, count me in. My wife and I just started ediets.com's alternative to Jenny Craig, where you basically eat frozen entrees with fruit, salad, etc. purchased separately.

A little background...

I'm about 5'8" and currently weigh 225 lbs. Coming out of high school, I was probably around 170 or so. Seven years of college/law school and I was at 220. Six months before I got married (back in 1997), I promised my wife I would lose weight and did the "real" Jenny Craig diet and started running. On our wedding day, I weighed between 165 and 170 and had been running upwards of 20 miles a week. Then came the honeymoon, and getting used to living with someone, etc., and I gained it all back.

Fast forward a few years and I jumped on the Atkins craze not once, but twice. Both times I lost 40-60 pounds; both times I gained it all back. After almost 10 years, I'm pretty much back where I started. Now that we've got 2 kids, convenience is the most important thing for me (us), so we're doing the Lean Cuisine/Healthy Choice stuff on a JC-like meal plan.

My goal is to get back down to 175. I'm not sure how realistic that is, but we'll see. My wife is trying to lose the 20 or so pounds she gained from having the 2 kids. But she's not a dieter, so in some ways, this will probably be harder on her than it will be on me. Anyway, now that I live in a place that isn't 90 degrees and humid 7 months out of the year, I'm hoping that will help motivate me to exercise. I don't have time for a gym, so bike riding, jogging, and walking are probably going to be the best I can do.

We started officially on Sunday, so every Sunday I'll weigh myself and report the progress. I'm glad this thread is here!

[Logan]

I'm looking forward to my weigh-in on Friday morning. I've eaten very well the past 2 days...just meals, no snacks. And I've been working in the city, where it's really easy to get bad food quickly :). But yesterday I had a fresh mozzarella/tomato sandwich and today had some sushi, so I think it's gone as well as it could.

[Lorena]

I'm looking forward to my weigh-in on Friday morning. I've eaten very well the past 2 days...just meals, no snacks. And I've been working in the city, where it's really easy to get bad food quickly :). But yesterday I had a fresh mozzarella/tomato sandwich and today had some sushi, so I think it's gone as well as it could.

WTG Logan! I've had temptation for the past few days (my daughter's birthday, my daughter's friend's birthday party, and today's PTA meeting). So much bad food and I did very well. I was tempted by the different kinds of cookies and muffins at the PTA meeting but I had cheese instead.

I'm glad to hear everyone doing so well! Keep it up everyone! http://www.totallyfreecursors.com/thumbnails/Cheer.gif

[wade moore]

Aight, I'll jump in.

I graduated from High School 9 years ago. At that time, and all through High School I weighed about 115-120 lbs (i'm 5'9 or so). Obviously, I was REALLY skinny. That all happened with no work. Like most people, I gained 15 or so lbs. as a Freshman in College. At some point I remember being shocked when I passed 150 lbs. Then next thing I know this spring, I realize that I'm at about 190 lbs.

So, my motivation is really just that I feel pretty bad about myself. But on top of that, I am getting married March 29, 2008. My Fiance and I both want to lose weight for that. We're trying not to do anything "hardcore" that we'll be motivated to quit later. About a month ago (Aug. 15 actually) we decided to do something about it.

So, right now we are trying to "eat better".. this includes not going out to eat but once a month (we went probably 2-3 times a week before), taking sweets out of the house, smaller portions, etc. Then we are exercising. Starting with we've walked 2 miles a day with our dogs for the last month or so. My Fiance is a teacher, so once her schedule gets settled (probably next week) we will go to the gym in the morning to do weights.

My goal is to fit into 32" waist pants again. Whatever weight that is, so be it (probably around 160 give or take - with a low fat %).

We'll see, I've never been muscular - but that would be a nice outcome of this. In High School and early college I benefited from playing tennis (on HS team) and then intramural sports, pickup basketball, etc. I don't do that anymore so I have to get more going.

I am at about 185 now...

I'm crossing my fingers...

[biological warrior]

Aight, I'll jump in.

I graduated from High School 9 years ago. At that time, and all through High School I weighed about 115-120 lbs (i'm 5'9 or so). Obviously, I was REALLY skinny. That all happened with no work. Like most people, I gained 15 or so lbs. as a Freshman in College. At some point I remember being shocked when I passed 150 lbs. Then next thing I know this spring, I realize that I'm at about 190 lbs.

So, my motivation is really just that I feel pretty bad about myself. But on top of that, I am getting married March 29, 2008. My Fiance and I both want to lose weight for that. We're trying not to do anything "hardcore" that we'll be motivated to quit later. About a month ago (Aug. 15 actually) we decided to do something about it.

So, right now we are trying to "eat better".. this includes not going out to eat but once a month (we went probably 2-3 times a week before), taking sweets out of the house, smaller portions, etc. Then we are exercising. Starting with we've walked 2 miles a day with our dogs for the last month or so. My Fiance is a teacher, so once her schedule gets settled (probably next week) we will go to the gym in the morning to do weights.

My goal is to fit into 32" waist pants again. Whatever weight that is, so be it (probably around 160 give or take - with a low fat %).

We'll see, I've never been muscular - but that would be a nice outcome of this. In High School and early college I benefited from playing tennis (on HS team) and then intramural sports, pickup basketball, etc. I don't do that anymore so I have to get more going.

I am at about 185 now...

I'm crossing my fingers...

Size 32's are I think at least 170 lbs. Keep it up. Remember were all in this together. Oh have you tried push ups and situps. Starting out with your max and adding 5 reps each week or two?

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, the smallest waist I've had since high school was a 32, and that was around 165-170.

[Lorena]

I posted this in SirFozzie and duckman's dynasty so I might as well post it here:

If anyone is interested in some freeware to track your weightloss, go here -----> Soundtell's Weight Tracker (http://www.soundtells.com/WeightTracker/). It plots your weight in a graph so you can see your progress.

I have lost 1.4 lbs so far... yay! I've been pushing my son on the stroller for about 40 minutes around our hilly neighborhood and have been on track with Phase 2 of South Beach.

I drink about 10 oz. of fat free milk a day (not so much water though, need to work on that) egg/tuna salads and chili. I have been sneaking in some no sugar whole wheat bread and whole wheat tortillas every once in a while. For snacks I've been having turkey w/ cheese rollups.

Welcome aboard Ksyrup and wade moore! I'm looking forward to seeing your progress :)

[wade moore]

Yeah, the smallest waist I've had since high school was a 32, and that was around 165-170.

Maybe I'll make 30 my goal then ;)...

But, it's more a look thing... 165-170 would be fine if the fat % is low.

[AnalBumCover]

I have lost 1.4 lbs so far... yay! I've been pushing my son on the stroller for about 40 minutes around our hilly neighborhood and have been on track with Phase 2 of South Beach.
Is there a link online to the South Beach meal planner? I had the book once but a friend of mine borrowed it and has yet to return it.

I've had success in the past with South Beach, but never stuck with it. In Phase 1, I remember losing as much as 10 lbs, and continued losing an additional 2-3 lbs going into Phase 2.

[biological warrior]

I've found that a can of slim fast or ensure usually helps me fight those hunger pangs during the first couple of weeks.

[Lorena]

Is there a link online to the South Beach meal planner? I had the book once but a friend of mine borrowed it and has yet to return it.

I've had success in the past with South Beach, but never stuck with it. In Phase 1, I remember losing as much as 10 lbs, and continued losing an additional 2-3 lbs going into Phase 2.

PM sent. I can't remember where I got them from, but they were saved as txt files, hope they help and good luck :)

[AnalBumCover]

An entire plate of danish pastries was placed about 10 feet from my desk earlier this morning.

Ha!

Thanks but no thanks. :-)

[biological warrior]

An entire plate of danish pastries was place about 10 feet from my desk earlier this morning.

Ha!

Thanks but no thanks. :-)

That's the spirit. Im off to school, but first Im going to load up on water and an energy bar so as not to be tempted by the dreaded buffalo chicken plate.:eek:

[JeeberD]

I weighed myself the other day for the first time since the wedding and I was at 207...right about where I was before the wedding. I just need to find some time to get my butt back in the gym, though. I'm working mornings and have school at night and have so little free time it's scary...

[AnalBumCover]

Friday morning weigh-in:

09/15/06: 217.6 lbs (-2.4lbs)(+0.6 since last weigh-in)

A minor set-back this week. The future Mrs. BumCover and I had to host her brother who is visiting from the Philippines. While going out for dinners I still tried to keep to my plan, ordering what I figured would be low carb dishes, passing on sodas and desserts, etc.

Of course there was the night when the In-N-Out (b)urge(r) came calling, (my future brother-in-law wanted to try it). That time I ordered a cheeseburger and diet coke, no fries. Could've gone with the Protein Burger (wrapped in lettuce), but I didn't.

Tonight continues the foodfest... The annual Lobster Fest in San Pedro to be precise. If I keep to the lobster only, and pass on the homemade ice cream, pop corn, funnel cakes, and cotton candies that come with festivals like this, I should be okay. But then again... there's all that beer.

Shit. This will be tough.

[Logan]

Friday morning weigh-in. Like I said previously, I've been feeling good about how I've eaten all week. Haven't exercised as much as I would've liked to, but I also walked a ton all over the city this week.

Here we go:

Start: 234.5 lbs (9/4/06)
Previous: 230.5 lbs (9/9/06)
Current: 226.5 lbs (9/15/06)
Goal: 195 lbs (3/4/06)

Now I don't think I lost a full 4 lbs in 6 days. I'm pretty sure that the last time I weighed myself, it was in the afternoon, so I definitely ate breakfast and maybe even lunch. But today I weighed myself in the morning (which I'll be doing from now on), so I would guess I lost between 2 and 2.5 true pounds this week. Happy with the numbers though.

[Ksyrup]

I always weigh myself in the morning after my shower (and before I eat). Whenever you do it, just make sure it is the same time of day and make sure you're not throwing it off with the clothes you're wearing (if any).

[wade moore]

I always weigh myself in the morning after my shower (and before I eat). Whenever you do it, just make sure it is the same time of day and make sure you're not throwing it off with the clothes you're wearing (if any).

I agree with this (especially the clothes). But for curiosity sake, I've been weighing myself multiple times in the same day... it really doesn't fluctuate as much in a given day as I always thought it did.

[biological warrior]

Just weighted my self and I'm a solid 178, and hasnt fluctuated at all the past few days.

[Greyroofoo]

Right now I'm 149.0, which is about a pound lighter than last week. Last night at the gym I ran my 3 miles in 29:37. While its a personal best its far from where I want it to be still.

Yesterday I was complemented on my recent weight loss by a girl I used to like. I have to say I'm rather happy about that.

[Icy]

Saturday update: (210 lbs, -5 from the begining a week ago)

The week plan has been nice. As i had it planned, I went to the gym for workouts 3 days and ran 2 miles outside 2 days. Also ate for dinner salads and protein shakes on the gym days, only salads the running days.

I'm surprised at the fast weight loss, but it's usual this way when you start a diet, once your body loses part of the water and gets used to the lower amount of calories it becomes harder to lose weight.

About the workouts, i'm getting less and less sore the following day, that means my body is getting used to them.

The only problem is that tonight we have a wedding, that will have a good amount of great food for dinner, it's going to be a hard test for me, let's see how much i gain in one day even trying to control myself (i can easily gain 2 pounds after one big dinner and drinking when i don't control myself). Anyway tomorrow i'll run again and will eat mainly vegetables to remove the weeding weight gain.

[biological warrior]

Right now I'm 149.0, which is about a pound lighter than last week. Last night at the gym I ran my 3 miles in 29:37. While its a personal best its far from where I want it to be still.

Yesterday I was complemented on my recent weight loss by a girl I used to like. I have to say I'm rather happy about that.

149!!! Damn you should be running a 21 min 5k.;).

[Greyroofoo]

did I mention that I'm only 5'3? 149 is overweight for me (if BMI is anything to go by)

Also, with some digging I found a picture of me

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k251/linszoid/golfing.jpg

not exactly best for comparing fitness levels though

[Lorena]

My Plan
I've been following the South Beach Diet for a week. Out of these 7 days, I was pretty bad for about 4 meals and it hindered my weight loss, but a loss is a loss and I'll take it.

My workouts
I have been walking most days of the weeks pushing my son on a stroller through our neighborhood. I need to change our route a little so it doesn't get boring; but I've been keeping up with it which is an accomplishment in itself.

Stats
Starting weight: 194.4
Current Weight: 192.8
Loss: 1.6 lbs

Plans for the upcoming week
Stay on track with South Beach, drink more water, and sneak in a different exercise.

[Ksyrup]

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but I weighed in at 216.4, a loss of just over 8.5 pounds for the first week. I always seem to lose huge amounts during the first week or so. My goal is to add in some exercise and definitely some sit ups/crunches, as my waistline is my biggest issue. The facial fat will go away as the pounds drop, but I need to tighten up the stomach and try to do away with the "second stomach" (just below the waistline) I started developing.

So far, so good. My wife lost about 5 pounds and is pleased.

[Logan]

Nice work!

[biological warrior]

Here's a current pic of me taken this after noon, just click on the link.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=72827060

[biological warrior]

This thing still alive?

[Logan]

This thing still alive?

Of course it is!

My Friday morning weigh-in turned into a Saturday morning weigh-in due to the fact that it was impossible to get out of bed for work yesterday, so my routine was all messed up.

Start: 234.5 lbs (9/4/06)
Previous: 226.5 lbs (9/15/06)
Current: 224.5 lbs (9/23/06)
Goal: 195 lbs (3/4/06)

I was a little nervous getting on the scale, since my exercising was basically non-existant this week. But I'm fine with the results, since my eating habits are still strong.

[Lorena]

This week
Followed South Beach Phase 2 but got carried away with bread and had a carb overload yesterday.

My workouts
I've done well with my workouts. I have successfully walked most days of the week pushing my son on the stroller for at least half an hour at a time.

Stats
Starting weight on 09/09/06: 194.4
Current Weight: 191.8
Loss this week: -1.0 lbs
Total loss: -2.6 lbs

Plans for the upcoming week
I lost a whopping 1 lb for the week, so I'll have to up my protein intake and take it easy on the bread and flour. Keep on track with South Beach and walk for longer distances.

Grats to everyone for doing so well! Ksyrup a whopping 8.5 lbs your first week, that's pretty damn awesome. Logan, you're not doing so bad yourself, every little bit counts towards that final goal.

Keep up the good work all :)

[biological warrior]

This week
Followed South Beach Phase 2 but got carried away with bread and had a carb overload yesterday.

My workouts
I've done well with my workouts. I have successfully walked most days of the week pushing my son on the stroller for at least half an hour at a time.

Stats
Starting weight on 09/09/06: 194.4
Current Weight: 191.8
Loss this week: -1.0 lbs
Total loss: -2.6 lbs

Plans for the upcoming week
I lost a whopping 1 lb for the week, so I'll have to up my protein intake and take it easy on the bread and flour. Keep on track with South Beach and walk for longer distances.

Grats to everyone for doing so well! Ksyrup a whopping 8.5 lbs your first week, that's pretty damn awesome. Logan, you're not doing so bad yourself, every little bit counts towards that final goal.

Keep up the good work all :)

I'm off toweigh myself in, as long as I lose at least 1-3 lbs. i'll be happy.:)

[biological warrior]

Weighed on at 179.1 lbs. Lost 1.5 lbs. I probably could have lost more -should have not eaten and drank this week.- Ho[ing I get down to 175 lbs by next week.:)

[Lorena]

Weighed on at 179.1 lbs. Lost 1.5 lbs. I probably could have lost more -should have not eaten and drank this week.- Ho[ing I get down to 175 lbs by next week.:)

Grats! I'm sure you can get it done by next week. I'll set the same weight loss of 4 lbs like you.

[biological warrior]

Remember just click on the myspace link to see my current pic.

[Ksyrup]

Had a decent week, with the expected drop-off from my big first-week loss. I still haven't really done any exercise, although I did some sit-ups one night, which I plan to do on a more regular basis. I lost 4 pounds this week.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 216.5 lbs (9/17/06)
Current: 212.5 lbs (9/24/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)

So, I've lost 12.5 pounds in 2 weeks. With some added exercise, it would be nice to keep up a 4 pounds/week average. We'll see.

[JeeberD]

Made it back to the gym this morning for the first time since the wedding, and weighed in at 210.2 (before breakfast). I would like to get down to an even 200, but really at this point I'm going to be putting more emphasis on muscle gain than weight loss. But I'll still be doing my fair share of cardio to keep the fat off.

It sucked, though. After not going to the gym in about five weeks I was weak as hell. I couldn't lift nearly as much as I was putting up before. Lesson learned for the future.

[Ksyrup]

A quick recommendation for dieters who are eating a lot of salad - I've found that the Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard and Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressings are excellent.

[Ksyrup]

Where is everybody? Let's hear some updates!

My weigh-in from yesterday was pretty good, I lost another 5 pounds. That brings me to:

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 212.5 lbs (9/24/06)
Current: 207.5 lbs (10/01/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 17.5 lbs

[JeeberD]

210.0 after breakfast. Any loss at all suprises me...I half assed it the second half of the week since a) I knew we were going to go to the state fair on Saturday and the diet would be ruined anyways, and b) the wife is stared a very strict diet Sunday and we ate well before she had to give everything up.

This time next week, though, I'm hoping to be down to 208.

[Ksyrup]

If I can keep up 4-5 pounds a week, I'll be thrilled. I suspect I'll be hitting a lull at some point, though. I haven't really started exercising aside from doing some crunches every night, but I'll probably need to get active to keep up this kind of loss. I've done it before, though, so who knows.

[Lorena]

This week
No cheating at all! Yay me! BUT, I made a delicious Zucchini Bread that caused me to gain a little bit. Every ingredient in there was legal but having too much of a good thing isn't necessarily good. I also made pizza (with a whole wheat crust) that caused me to stall a bit.

My workouts
I'm still walking most days of the week, but Antmeister and I bought some weights so I'll be incorporating that into my "days off".

Stats
Starting weight on 09/09/06: 194.4
Current Weight: 189.8
Loss this week: -2.0 lbs
Total loss: - 4.6lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 64.8 lbs.

Plans for the upcoming week
LOL, 2 lb weight loss last week. Even though I've been on track, I can't get away from the bread and tortillas (both whole wheat). When on South Beach, whole wheat is good, but too much of it can cause one to stall and/or gain weight which I have done for the past few weeks. I busted out my Tae Bo workout so I'll work on incorporating that sometime this week. I have lost up to 6 lbs a week on South Beach and these 1 lb weight loss per week ain't gonna work - at this rate, I'll be at my goal weight in over a year... nope, I need to bust my ass this week.

That's it for now... 'til next week. Wow, I didn't realize it was 10/02/06 today, I'll be taking a picture in a week to see the results. It'll be interesting to see the difference, I can't tell by looking in the mirror.

[Lorena]

dola,

I received a flier in the mail from Curves asking for volunteers to participate in a fitness study and I decided to do it. The study is so they can emphasize the importance of exercising on a regular basis to their members. At least 3x a week is much better than once in a while. I'll be signing paperwork and will start my first workout this Friday.

This should be interesting; I'm hopeful my weight will drop much faster after this 3 week study is completed.

[PilotMan]

Well as far as I can tell I am still holding around 260. I have been eating a bit worse than I should be but am still making good choices. Finding time to get to the gym is difficult. I was only able to work out twice last week, and I missed my indoor soccer match with a sprained big toe, and strained left quad. I should be back up for this week's game.

I havn't been able to work out this week, but I did just walk 6 laps at the Mall of America in an hour. By my calculation that would be between 3.5 and 4 miles at the pace that I was walking at.

My clothes are fitting better. My body is certainly changing, but I am having problems with stress taking away my motivation, as well as thinking that maybe I am doing better than I really am.

[JeeberD]

A quick recommendation for dieters who are eating a lot of salad - I've found that the Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard and Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressings are excellent.


I found the Light Honey Mustard several months ago, and the stuff is amazing. Ken's has a Light Balsamic Vinegerette that's pretty damn good, and Kraft has a Fat Free Italian Ceasar that is decent...

[Lorena]

This was not a good week for me, I didn't feel very well and still don't.

[Ksyrup]

I lost 3 pounds this week. I still haven't done much exercise other than 50 crunches a night and the occasional family bike ride, so I know it's time to get going. We joined a local recreational center that has a workout area, track, indoor and outdoor pools, and childcare. It's only 3 miles from the house, so I can't complain about it being inconvenient. I want to get back to the 4-5 pounds per week weight loss that I had the first few weeks.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 207.5 lbs (10/01/06)
Current: 204.5 lbs (10/08/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 20.5 lbs<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Lorena]

I haven't weighed myself since sometime early last week so I kinda dreaded stepping on the scale based on what I ate and how I felt last week, but I did it today and it wasn't as bad as I thought.

Stats
Starting weight on 09/09/06: 194.4
Current Weight: 188.2
Loss this week: -1.6 lbs
Total loss: - 6.2lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 63.2 lbs.

Little by little. I had my second workout at Curves today and I totally loved it. It's basically non-stop resistance training. I've gone twice already and worked out for half an hour the first day, and 1 hour today. It's so easy I can see myself doing it at least 4 times a week.

I'll be curious to see how much I weigh on Sunday after my workouts.

[Ksyrup]

I went to the gym on Monday night for about 45 minutes. I walked .5 mile, then jogged 2.5 miles, then walked another .25 mile. Not bad for my first activity in a long time. My right knee was killing me for about a day, though. I couldn't move it left or right without it hurting, but that's starting to go away. I may go back tonight, depending on how the knee feels.

[Ksyrup]

I went to the gym again last night. I'm going to try to go 2-3 times a week. Considering the only time I can go is between 7:30-9pm, I won't be going every night. But maybe twice during the work week and once on the weekend is what I'm going to strive for. Since my knee was hurting a bit, I ended up doing the same 30 laps as last time (9 laps per mile), but only ran 2 miles instead of 2.5 and walked the rest. And my knee isn't really hurting today, so I guess it was just soreness from lack of use - as oppsed to an MCL sprain or something!

[Lorena]

Good for you Ksyrup!

I have successfully gone to the gym 3 times this week and I'm going again tomorrow. Twice I've gone for an hour each. I'm really proud of myself because I've actually committed to going to the gym and actually working out instead of lollygagging around the weights. What's great about Curves is that you are pretty much forced to move from station to station after 30 seconds with no time to think. It makes the time go by super, super fast and I love it.

Since I'm part of this study, it was required that I go 3 times a week for half an hour, but this week, I would have gone 4 times and out of those, 3 of them have been/will be for an hour. The data might be skewed a bit, but the contract didn't state that I HAD to stick with 3 times a week. I weighed myself and gained a little, but I can feel my clothes feeling loose and notice a huge change in my legs.

Til Sunday...

[Ksyrup]

I'm going again tomorrow morning - if I can get my ass out of bed at 6:30 with the temperature near freezing!

[Lorena]

Well, my diet sucked but I kicked ass in the workout dept. This week (depending on Antmeister's schedule), I'm planning on going 5 days and 2 out of those days will be 1 hour workouts. If his schedule works in my favor, maybe 3 of those days will be 1 hour workouts. Since my son hasn't really been out, I'll mix in a few walks as well; I think he misses our daily half hour walks.

Stats
Starting weight on 09/09/06: 194.4
Current Weight: 190.0
Gain this week: +1.8 lbs
Total loss: - 4.4 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 65.0 lbs.

I was a little dissapointed, but my clothes feel loose and my legs, omg, my legs are looking better. Even though Curves is geared towards a "whole body workout", I really bust my ass on the leg machines and I can see the difference.

I gotta stop making that Meat-za (pizza with cornbread as the crust) cuz that's the root of my problems.

So for now, I'll keep on keeping on... http://daviswj.home.comcast.net/DP_Images/misc/smiley_bike.gif

[Ksyrup]

Had a decent week, my first incorporating workouts. I'm going to try to keep up with the three weekly 45-minute walk/jog sessions for now. That's the best I can do. My mom flew in on Saturday, so I expect to go off-diet for the first time this week. Hopefully I can minimize the damage, because I'm on the cusp of dropping below 200 pounds and am looking forward to that milestone, of sorts. I'm pretty much halfway to where I want to be in terms of weight loss, too.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 204.5 lbs (10/08/06)
Current: 200.5 lbs (10/15/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 24.5 lbs

[PilotMan]

That is outstanding Ksyrup, it is the speed that you are losing that is great.

For me finding time to workout is getting rough. For some reason I am having a hard time getting motivated. I am still watchin what I am eating. I weighed a couple of times this week. I can safely say that I am down to 255.

This would bring my total loss to 22 lbs since the end of July. Also, I ended up at the urgent care for workmans comp. It gave me a chance to get my BP checked. Good news there is that my BP was down over 20 points on the top number, which has been my problem lately.

The holidays are coming and that spells bad news for me.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, I'm "in a zone" right now. Strangely, the same traits that contributed to me gaining weight very quickly are probably working to help me lose it quickly. I'm clearly an "all or nothing" type eater. Now that I've spent 5 weeks eating small, healthy portions, I'm able to eat even less than I'm supposed to and it doesn't bother me. Conversely, when I wasn't watching what I ate and was just going for what tasted good, I could eat 2 or 3 times a normal portion and it wouldn't bother me, either. Which is not good, but now that I'm on a downward trend, it's become beneficial.

I think I'm on a 1600-1700 calorie plan, but I bet I'm eating only 1000-1200 calories a day. And even adding in the workouts, I don't feel like I don't have energy or anything like that. So I'm going to ride this until it stops!

And I hear you about time for workouts. I leave for work at 7am and get home around 6pm, and by the time we eat and put the kids to sleep, I've got just enough time to get in an hour at the gym until it closes at 9pm. But I only go a couple of time during the week because then I feel like I'm neglecting my wife. It's tough.

[Ksyrup]

Well, thanks to my mom being here (and cooking), this week is turning out to be quite the challenge. But yesterday was the end of the festivities for me, and I quickly made my way to the gym last night, increasing my jogging from 2.5 to 3 miles (with a .5 mile walk to begin and end the session). So, I hope I was able to tread water for the past few days, and now I'm back on the diet full-swing. I'm looking forward to seeing a *1* as the first number on the scale very soon.

[biological warrior]

Just weighed in for the first time in 2 weeks and I weight 176. Down from 180 lbs.

[Lorena]

The diet went so-so. This week, I stopped buying that cornbread stuff so no more of that. We've been having pizza (whole-wheat, thin crust) for the past couple of weeks, so I'm gonna stop making those as well. The workouts went great... went to the gym 4 days a week (although I only went for half an hour, but I busted my ass) and I took my son for a walk for 3 days last week.

This is my last free week at Curves, so on Friday I'll get weighed and measured... we'll see how many inches (if any) I lost. I'm gonna have to lose some kind of weight because I think I've lost about 1 lb. in the past 2 weeks.

Stats
Starting weight on 09/09/06: 194.4
Current Weight (10/23/06): 189.0
Loss this week: -1.0 lbs
Total loss: - 5.4 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 64.0 lbs.

Plans this week:
Stay on track with the walks and gym, and CUT BACK ON THOSE DAMN TORTILLAS! I grew up on the stuff but it's hard to eliminate them completely from the diet. Although I made the change from white flour to wheat, it's still a difficult.

[Ksyrup]

I was pretty pleased with the last week. Despite my mom being here and us eating out a couple of times (even the weight watchers meals are dangerous for me) and my mom cooking a bit, I managed to lose another 4 pounds. I'll be back at the gym tonight.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 200.5 lbs (10/15/06)
Current: 196.5 lbs (10/22/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 28.5 lbs<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[biological warrior]

Udate on weight loss:
We took the PT test yesterday and I passed with flyin' colors.
I weighted in at 172 lbs.
and my PT score was:
PU: 63
SU 68
2 MR: 1622 (BARELY PASSING, BUT i DID PASS).

[Lorena]

dola,

I received a flier in the mail from Curves asking for volunteers to participate in a fitness study and I decided to do it. The study is so they can emphasize the importance of exercising on a regular basis to their members. At least 3x a week is much better than once in a while. I'll be signing paperwork and will start my first workout this Friday (10/06/06).

This should be interesting; I'm hopeful my weight will drop much faster after this 3 week study is completed.

Well, today was the last day of the fitness study (21 days) and I was measured. I had to share the good news with you guys.

I lost the following (in inches) in 21 days:

Bust: -0.50
Waist: -1.50
Abdomen: -2.0
Hips: -4.0 (!!!)
Thighs: -0.50
Arms: -0.25

Weight: -1.5 lbs.

So I lost a total of 1.5 lbs. but a grand total of 8.75 inches. I busted my ass off on the glute machines (and thus the 4 in. loss). It hurt so good, but I kept telling myself, no pain no gain... I was on a mission and after getting results like that, I feel confident that I'll get there soon. My weight didn't drop like I had planned, but I lost a lot of inches... more than any of the other participants... w00t?! :cool:

[Lorena]

Udate on weight loss:
We took the PT test yesterday and I passed with flyin' colors.
I weighted in at 172 lbs.
and my PT score was:
PU: 63
SU 68
2 MR: 1622 (BARELY PASSING, BUT i DID PASS).

I dont' know what any of those numbers mean, but grats on passing :)

[Ksyrup]

I lost the following (in inches) in 21 days:

Bust: -0.50


On behalf of all the guys, I say...uh, congrats, I...I guess? ;)

[Lorena]

My diet went so-so... the workouts went very well. This week we went grocery shopping and stayed away from the tortillas and fruits (for now anyway). We have been drinking smoothies almost everyday and some of the ingredients we put in there might be hindering my weight loss, so we're gonna stop making them for a couple of weeks and see what happens. We bought lots of fish, chicken, and beef patties so we can stick to low carb as much as possible.

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Current Weight (10/29/06): 187.0
Loss this week: -2.0 lbs
Total loss: - 7.4 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 62 lbs.

2 lb. weight loss this week which has been the most I've lost since I joined the dynasty; could be wrong though. I need to drink more tea and water than I have been.

'Til next time... keep up the good work everyone!!

[Lorena]

On behalf of all the guys, I say...uh, congrats, I...I guess? ;)

:cool:

Yeah, I'm not too sure how to feel about that; I lost a lot of my butt too. Oh well, win some lose some right?

[Ksyrup]

Doing good, Dodgerchick!

I think I hit my first plateau this past week. Not that I didn't lose weight, because I did (3 pounds), but I lost it all by Thursday and nothing since. I hope that trend doesn't continue, because I need to lose another 5 pounds or so quickly before I'll fit comfortably into my "skinny clothes" - right now I look like a clown in my baggy suit pants and other clothes. I'll be back at the gym tonight!

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 196.5 lbs (10/22/06)
Current: 193.5 lbs (10/29/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 31.5 lbs<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[lordscarlet]

Maybe I'll make 30 my goal then ;)...

But, it's more a look thing... 165-170 would be fine if the fat % is low.

I wear 33s for the most part, FWIW.

My goal is a true 32" waist (I wear 33" pants but have a 38"ish waist).

[Radii]

Background Alright its high time for me to join in here. With my recent life and job related stresses and probably some depression I have gotten myself into a really rough spot physically. After months of zero exercise and ordering in and fast food, and about 6 weeks now where i'm probably spending 90 hours a week in front of the computer between work and play, its time to turn this thing around.

I have always been a yo yo dieter, in the past 10 years I've lost 30-50 pounds on 6 different occasions and always gained it back. This is the first time I've let it go so long and get so bad before taking another shot.

I'm 6'4" and somewhere between 330-350, putting my BMI in the low 40s. I have never weighed above 330 before in my life, but I am definitely over that right now.

The Plan: I'm a bit concerned b/c I have never weighed this much before and its having some nasty physical effects on me that I've never experienced before, so the first thing I'm doing is making a doctors appointment to see if I need to get on any meds to regulate some things like blood pressure until I drop some weight. Even at 330 in the past I've never been more than "borderline hypertensive" but I have a bad feeling that is changing as I get a bit older.

As far as the diet goes, low carb is the way for me, unless something at the doctor's visit forces me in another direction. The foreman grill is out for ease and speed of preparing meat, and i'll be making a grocery store run tomorrow or Saturday to get things going.


Exercise: I just need to get some exercise, any exercise. Pushing myself to take a walk in the evening is where I'm starting, and I probably won't be thinking about much else but walking until I'm at 300.


The Goal: My long term goal is to get down to 220 or so and see how I feel. Even at 220 my BMI would still put me in the "overweight" range but I have seirous doubts about what I'd be like at less than that. But right now I'm concerned about the short term. I want to break that ugly 300 number. 299 is my goal. Once I reach that I'll push towards the next number.

I'll post more specifics like exact weight and diet as I get to the grocery store and see the doc, but I wanted to get this posted now to give myself another piece of motivation to get on the right track.

[Fouts]

Hey guys. Any recommendations for a digital scale that is accurate for weight and body fat? I'd like to find locally (walmart, sears, etc.) that is reliable. Thanks.

I'm 6'4", 240, and would like to drop 25-40 lbs. I lose weight quickly if I actually workout. A good scale would help.

[Ksyrup]

Good luck, Radii. I know what you mean about the yo-yo dieting. I have gained and lost about 40-60 pounds 3 (now going on 4) times in the past 10 years. I'm getting too old for this, so this time I am going to make a concerted effort to really change the way I eat and keep up the exercise after I lose the weight.

FWIW, I've found that as easy as it has been for me to gain the weight, it has been, well, maybe not AS easy to lose it, but certainly, it has come off faster than I expected. I think the same thing that makes it easy for me to eat 4 times a normal amount of something and not feel particularly full has helped me to be able to east far less than I'm used to, and not feel particularly hungry. Just a theory. All I know is, it's been easier for me to withstand temptation and eat less than I thought it would be. Once you see the weight coming off, it solidifies your resolve to keep it up.

Anyway, good luck and keep posting updates here. I've found this thread to be tremendously helpful, both in terms of keeping track of how I'm doing and the encouragement I get from others and from seeing how others are doing.

[Lorena]

Hey guys. Any recommendations for a digital scale that is accurate for weight and body fat? I'd like to find locally (walmart, sears, etc.) that is reliable. Thanks.

I'm 6'4", 240, and would like to drop 25-40 lbs. I lose weight quickly if I actually workout. A good scale would help.

I'm not sure which digital scale to recommend, but we bought ours at IKEA. It doesn't measure body fat or anything like that, but it's worked out for us.


As far as the diet goes, low carb is the way for me, unless something at the doctor's visit forces me in another direction. The foreman grill is out for ease and speed of preparing meat, and i'll be making a grocery store run tomorrow or Saturday to get things going.



Oh yeah, I totally agree. Antmeister and I have lost a decent amount of weight on lowcarb. We started out on Atkins (March '05) and thanks to the good 'ol doc's diet, I lost over 30 lbs. We kinda stopped for a bit but thankfully I never re-gained the weight. After the 30 lb. weight loss, I started South Beach and lost over 10 lbs. I haven't lost as much on South Beach, but I enjoy the variety of food.

If you want info on South Beach, I have a few files with Induction Friendly foods, sample menus, and "legal" foods on second and third phase.



Welcome aboard Radii, lordscarlet, and Fouts and good luck :)

[Radii]

Thanks for the warm welcome ksyrup and dodgerchick.

FWIW, I've found that as easy as it has been for me to gain the weight, it has been, well, maybe not AS easy to lose it, but certainly, it has come off faster than I expected.


If I do things right, if I really fix things right away(no sodas, no slipups, actually get into induction for atkins/south beach/wahtever low carb thing this is, and EXERCISE) I expect my early progress to be similar to yours with relatively large, consistant loss in the first month or so. I've certainly done this successfully in the past and lost a good amount of weight right away.


I will let you know about South Beach, dodgerchick, its definitely something to consider. In the past when I've had success its been on a pretty strict atkins diet, that is my first thought when it comes to dieting again.

[DolphinFan1]

I just found this dynasty. I am a little late. My report will be post weight loss diet.

About one year ago I weighed 200 lbs. I could never lose weight and keep it off. I was an Ice Cream junkie. I ate about 1/2 gallon a week. I saw a report in the paper that the average American eats 6 gallons a year. I ate 26 a year!
I did a lot of reading. About 9 months ago my family and I started eating organic fruits and veggies. Now we eat about 90% organic. I am down to 175 lbs. I eat about the same as before but I don't gain weight. I get 4-5 hours sleep a night and I have a lot more energy.
My wife has lost weight and feels better. Also my kids are not hyper even when they eat sweets as I make all my own cookies, muffins, brownies and breads with all organic ingredients.

[Sublime 2]

Background

Like Radii, I feel the need to get into this. I'm 21, in my senior year at college and weigh 270 at 5'10". Growing up I've always been an athlete, in high school I played varsity soccer, basketball, and tennis. I was always a bit bigger than everyone else, but usually hovered around 170-185. During high school at some point I tore my meniscus in my knee, but decided I wanted to finish up my high school athletic time before I had my surgery. As soon as I got to college, the university diet killed me, plus I couldn't really exercise due to my knee being impossible. I had surgery sophomore year, which was great, i started exercising again and dropped 15-20 pounds. Unfortunately, my knee started acting up again, and found out I still had a partial tear and scar tissue. So I have surgery scheduled 2 days after X-Mas this year, but this limits my exercise possibilities until then.

Goal

Ideally, I'd like to drop down to my high school weight, 180 or so but anywhere under 200 I would be ecstatic. I'm not too sure what a good timetable on this is...I've never really had to diet before, since i was so active when i was younger.

Problems

Aside from the knee problem, there are couple things that are killing my weight. First off, I'm a weekend alcoholic, like many college students. I feel though that I'm above and beyond many, drinking 40-50 beers a weekend. It's tough being in college to cut that out, but I think I can reduce my drinking to once a week. Second, the college diet, it's a killer. To go along w/ the drinking, there's usually the drunk off your ass cooking at 3am. But I am in an apartment off-campus now so I can buy my own groceries and eat healthier than on-campus.

Exercise

The knee thing really is a problem until it's fixed this winter. I really can't do much of anything, except walk (and my knee still locks up). The good thing is, I can walk to my classes and back to my apartment (about 3 miles total), and do that 3 times a week. I'll be doing pushups and situps as well.

Diet?

I'm hoping that's where some of you guys can help me out. I'm not really sure what to eat. I don't drink soda, which is a plus. I need to cut out snack foods, especially after dinner. Any suggestions would be great help. I do like chicken and some fish so I could do something like that. But good side dishes, i don't know. Portions is another thing I def. need to cut down on.

Soo...here goes nothing!

[DolphinFan1]

Background

Like Radii, I feel the need to get into this. I'm 21, in my senior year at college and weigh 270 at 5'10". Growing up I've always been an athlete, in high school I played varsity soccer, basketball, and tennis. I was always a bit bigger than everyone else, but usually hovered around 170-185. During high school at some point I tore my meniscus in my knee, but decided I wanted to finish up my high school athletic time before I had my surgery. As soon as I got to college, the university diet killed me, plus I couldn't really exercise due to my knee being impossible. I had surgery sophomore year, which was great, i started exercising again and dropped 15-20 pounds. Unfortunately, my knee started acting up again, and found out I still had a partial tear and scar tissue. So I have surgery scheduled 2 days after X-Mas this year, but this limits my exercise possibilities until then.

Goal

Ideally, I'd like to drop down to my high school weight, 180 or so but anywhere under 200 I would be ecstatic. I'm not too sure what a good timetable on this is...I've never really had to diet before, since i was so active when i was younger.

Problems

Aside from the knee problem, there are couple things that are killing my weight. First off, I'm a weekend alcoholic, like many college students. I feel though that I'm above and beyond many, drinking 40-50 beers a weekend. It's tough being in college to cut that out, but I think I can reduce my drinking to once a week. Second, the college diet, it's a killer. To go along w/ the drinking, there's usually the drunk off your ass cooking at 3am. But I am in an apartment off-campus now so I can buy my own groceries and eat healthier than on-campus.

Exercise

The knee thing really is a problem until it's fixed this winter. I really can't do much of anything, except walk (and my knee still locks up). The good thing is, I can walk to my classes and back to my apartment (about 3 miles total), and do that 3 times a week. I'll be doing pushups and situps as well.

Diet?

I'm hoping that's where some of you guys can help me out. I'm not really sure what to eat. I don't drink soda, which is a plus. I need to cut out snack foods, especially after dinner. Any suggestions would be great help. I do like chicken and some fish so I could do something like that. But good side dishes, i don't know. Portions is another thing I def. need to cut down on.

Soo...here goes nothing!

Here's the #1 thing I found out with all the reading I do. Forget about organic for now. If you read the ingredients in most everything you eat you'll notice a few constants. High Fructose Corn Syrup is an artificial sweetener and is a weight gainer. Also all your other artificial sweeteners are not good for your body. It can't use them. Also anything with artificial coloring isn't good. Low fat with no calories isn't good. Why? Because with no calories you are still hungry and eat more of something. Mostly though it's the artificial stuff. Since My family and I have started this and paid attention to the ingredients list, we have been amazed at the turnaround.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Great thread. I'll jump in as well, although I started about two months ago.

Background
I played a lot of sports in high school, college, and beyond, and have generally been in good shape throughtout my school years and the earlier years after graduation. I've done a few long distance events (marathons, long triathlons, long cross-country ski races). At one point, I exercised at least 20 minutes/day every day for over four and a half years. Ideal weight when in good shape is about 187-191 pounds, on a 6'1" frame.

However, over the past ten years I've slowly gained about a pound or two per year. Thanks to the no-soda dynasty, last year was the first year in the past ten years that I was able to not gain weight. The biggest problem, however, has been that the past five years I've cut back significantly on exercise. The last year or two, I've been simply awful. I'm pretty sure I've lost a lot of muscle weight and gained a lot of body fat to replace it. So although I'm ten pounds over ideal weight, I bet I'm more like twenty pounds overweight. I'm in crappy shape as well.

The Goal
I'd like to be in good shape again and consistently be able to weigh in at 187-191 pounds.

The Plan
Reduce weight and increase muscle mass through consistent exercise and better dietary habits.

Exercise
My plan is to exercise Monday through Saturday for at least twenty minutes, and stretch on Sundays for 20 minutes. Also, I want to try to do little sets of situps and pushups during the day, with the aim of getting in 30+ situps and pushups a day. I'd also like to try and add in some "active tasks" like lawn mowing, walking, etc. to burn off more calories during the day. At some point, I'll like to add weightlifting, but I'll see how things go before adding this.

Diet
For the most part, I'm not really going to modify much here. I want to:

Eat better food
Reduce the post-dinner/late-night eating
Limit soda consumption to one/week
Eliminate alcohol


Starting Weight: 201 pounds.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Progress to date: Two-month mark

Starting Weight: 201 pounds
Current Weight: 196.5 pounds (-4.5 pounds)

Exercise
So far I've been able to stick to the 6 days exercise/1 day of stretching regimen. I've run three times/week, and then either rollerbladed or used the Yourself Fitness program on the Xbox for the other three workouts. I've been gradually increasing the total exercise time as well. Last Friday I went for a 46-minute run, which is the longest I've run in quite a few years. My body seems to be holding up pretty well, and an ache in my right hip and a stiff right shouder that bothered me during the first month have gotten better as I've gotten in better shape.

Diet
Diet-wise, I want to do better. I still haven't had any soda at all. I've stayed alcohol free as well. Chocolate and Halloween, however, have been gotten the better of me. I raided about half the supply of candy that we bought to give out on Halloween, and have quit chocolate four times in the past ten days. Once I have one piece, I just can't stop. There have been three days when I've eaten at least 15 of those bite-size chocolate treats (Heath bars, Rolos, Twix bars). Also, I've eaten more crap and less good stuff in the past month. I can do better here.

Thoughts
I'm happy with the results so far. It feels great to be exercising consistently again, and I've lost nearly five pounds in weight. Still, I feel like I have a long way to go. A "normal" running pace used to be seven-minute miles for me, and now I'm knocking off miles in about eight and a half minutes. Although this is faster than the nine-minute miles I was doing when I started, I want to be lighter and faster.

Interestingly, over the first month of this plan I actually gained five pounds. I hit 206 pounds a month ago, which is the heaviest I've ever been. I'm guessing this is from adding muscle faster than I've lost fat. I've been glad to have been dropping weight the past month.

For the next month, I'm planning to keep up what I've been doing exercise-wise, and try to eat more fruits and veggies.

[Lorena]

Well, my diet didn't go well and it had nothing to do with Halloween. I stayed away from all candy, but Antmeister had an office potluck and returned home with some food, so adios diet.

Since Tuesday's my gym day, I didn't go because of Halloween. So I worked out twice this week, no walks or jogs.

Bad week and I gained a pound because of it:

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Current Weight (11/05/06): 188.0
Gain this week: +1.0 lbs
Total loss: - 6.4 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 63 lbs.

Plans upcoming week:
Stick with the gym 3 times a week, maybe have one of those be a 1 hour workout, and mix in a jog. Walk with son most days of the week, if weather permits.



I just looked at my stats and looks like I've lost 6.4 lbs in almost 2 months... 3.2 lbs a month... wow, I expected at least a 10 lbs weight loss. Well, I lost a ton of inches, so I think gaining muscle might have something to do with it.

How in the hell to those people on The Biggest Loser lose so much damn weight? I'd like to know.

Anyway, good luck everyone. Ksyrup, you're kicking everyone's ass... keep up the good work!

[Ksyrup]

I guess I need to update for this week - completely forgot. Pretty much a carbon copy of last week, so at least I'm still steadily losing weight. If it wasn't for the exercise, I'm sure I'd be at a stand-still. I've finally gotten to a weight that has allowed me to make the big switch to the clothes I've had in storage for a few years. Some are a little tight, but the big clothes had gotten so big it was almost impossible to wear them anymore. If I can keep up with the 3-3.5 pounds per week average, I hope to be around 180 by December 1.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 193.5 lbs (10/29/06)
Current: 190.0 lbs (11/05/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 35.0 lbs<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Fouts]

I guess I need to update for this week - completely forgot. Pretty much a carbon copy of last week, so at least I'm still steadily losing weight. If it wasn't for the exercise, I'm sure I'd be at a stand-still. I've finally gotten to a weight that has allowed me to make the big switch to the clothes I've had in storage for a few years. Some are a little tight, but the big clothes had gotten so big it was almost impossible to wear them anymore. If I can keep up with the 3-3.5 pounds per week average, I hope to be around 180 by December 1.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 193.5 lbs (10/29/06)
Current: 190.0 lbs (11/05/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 35.0 lbs<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Wow, 35 lbs in 2 months. Very impressive. Congrats!

[Ksyrup]

Thanks! I'm pretty amazed myself. I had pretty much figured it would take 5-6 months to lose 50 pounds; now it looks like I might get there (holidays be damned!) by the end of the year, easily. We'll see how things go over Thanksgiving, though.

[Sublime 2]

Well it's only been 6 days, but I'm not sure how much I'll be around tomorrow in the morning/afternoon to weigh-in/post. I've completely changed my diet, which surprisingly has been fairly easy. I've never been a breakfast person, but atleast now I'm starting my day off with some green tea, get that metabolism going. I've kept up with walking to class, which has been about 9 miles in a week. My knee has held up as well so far, which is good.

For now my overall target weight is 190 lbs. But I think I'm going to set up a goal system, to begin with 250, or 20 lbs lost. Maybe I can challenge KSyrup's amazing run! :eek:



Start: 270.0 lbs (11/3/06)
Current: 264.5 lbs (11/9/06)
Week Loss: 5.5 lbs
Total Loss: 5.5 lbs

Loss Needed: 14.5 lbs

[Lorena]

Well it's only been 6 days, but I'm not sure how much I'll be around tomorrow in the morning/afternoon to weigh-in/post. I've completely changed my diet, which surprisingly has been fairly easy. I've never been a breakfast person, but atleast now I'm starting my day off with some green tea, get that metabolism going. I've kept up with walking to class, which has been about 9 miles in a week. My knee has held up as well so far, which is good.

For now my overall target weight is 190 lbs. But I think I'm going to set up a goal system, to begin with 250, or 20 lbs lost. Maybe I can challenge KSyrup's amazing run! :eek:



Start: 270.0 lbs (11/3/06)
Current: 264.5 lbs (11/9/06)
Week Loss: 5.5 lbs
Total Loss: 5.5 lbs

Loss Needed: 14.5 lbs


That's a good start sublime! I noticed I don't get as hungry when I drink green tea as well, love that stuff. Keep up the good work!!

http://forum.mambo-foundation.org/images/smilies/tea.gif Cheers

Oh and Vote Sublime 2 ;)

[Lorena]

My workouts went well, 3x this week with one of them being 1 hour, so I'm pretty stoked about that. My diet went well with the exception of yesterday when we totally messed up, but once out of the whole week ain't bad.

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Current Weight (11/12/06): 186.2
Loss this week: -1.8 lbs
Total loss: - 8.2 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 61.2 lbs.

Not bad, but I was aiming at 2 lbs. weight loss; dinner yesterday messed me up. Oh well, I'm a try for 2 lb weight loss next week. Even though I've only lost 8.2 lbs. my clothes feel relatively loose and I've been able to wear some stuff that I hadn't been able to wear in a while.

Good luck to all next week.

[Ksyrup]

The weight loss continues to be fairly consistent - this week I lost another 4 pounds. The next two weeks should be a good challenge, though. I'll be out of the office for most of Tuesday and Wednesday for work, and then Saturday, we drive to Dallas for Thanksgiving with my family. Lots of opportunities to mess up. Just being off a strict schedule will be difficult. I intend to use next week's down time to work out often.

If things continue to go well, I'll have to think about revising my goal weight (and certainly, the timeline!). I did some research on "ideal weight" calculators and such online, and even with a "large frame," my ideal weight would be somewhere between 157 and 172. I'm thinking about going for 160 - that would give me a good middle ground and give me a few pounds leeway for when I start to eat a bit more normally (on occasion). But we'll see how it goes...the idea of losing ANOTHER 25 pounds seems almost impossible at this point, but it's gone so well up until now that I'm sure I can do it.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 190.0 lbs (11/05/06)
Current: 186.0 lbs (11/12/06)
Goal: 175 lbs (3/31/07)
Total Loss: 39.0 lbs<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Lorena]

Well, Thanksgiving was tough and I have done really bad and gained several pounds. I will be measured sometime next week and I hope I lost at least a couple inches overall.

I need to find a healthier alternative for Christmas Dinner... any suggestions anyone?

[Greyroofoo]

Now that my back is feeling a bit better I'm going to hit the gym again. I probably won't be playing a lot of sports now (which is what causes me to hurt my back and prevents me from working out for weeks at a time). So looks like it'll be a lot of running for me.

[Ksyrup]

Back after a couple of weeks break. Well, a break from posting here, not dieting. In the past 2 weeks, I lost 6 pounds, which is pretty good considering Thanksgiving, not to mention I spent last week at my parents' house in Texas eating nothing but my mom's cooking or restaurant food.

I'm officially revising my goal weight to 165 lbs. I may be able to reach it by the end of the year; if not, shortly thereafter, so I've also revised the timeline to mid-January. The next 5-10 pounds are the most important, since I have a ton of clothes that will fit nicely in about 2-3 weeks (I hope). I'm actually looking forward to getting back into the swing of a normal eating/working out routine again.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 186.0 lbs (11/12/06)
Current: 180.0 lbs (11/26/06)
Goal: 165 lbs (1/15/07)
Total Loss: 45.0 lbs

[Ksyrup]

Well, Thanksgiving was tough and I have done really bad and gained several pounds. I will be measured sometime next week and I hope I lost at least a couple inches overall.

I need to find a healthier alternative for Christmas Dinner... any suggestions anyone?

For Thanksgiving, I ate pretty much everything that was served, except I had miniscule portions of each. And, I consciously ate very slowly so I could finish when everyone else did and avoid wanting to get seconds. It worked well.

[Radii]

Well its been a month since I posted here, I guess it took awhile to get up the steam to actually get started... I talked myself out of trips to the grocery store to get the food I need to start Atkins a number of times, but I've finally done it!

The last time I went to the doctor(last week for bronchitis) I weighed in at 355. That's... damn, that's high. I have gained weight like never before since July, when I was almost down to 300. The life changes and stress have definitely had me turning towards comfort foods and just not worrying about what I eat and eating out literally every meal for a few months. 355 is about 25 pounds more than I've ever been before, so this is a pretty big challenge, but its an important one too, I just don't feel good at this weight at all.


So I've made the switch to water, and to low carb foods, I made sure to bring a few different things into the office for snacks and lunches to keep me from being tempted to go out(or order in, which the rest of the office does a couple times a week).

I'm not really sure where I'll be able to weigh myself on a weekly basis for a little while, my scale isn't accurate over 320. We have a workout center in the office, but last time I checked, no scale there.

The plan for this week is just to stick to my guns and cook the meat I bought, eat the salad I've got, and get into induction in Atkins. I need to go for a walk a few days after work as well.

[MacroGuru]

Well its been a month since I posted here, I guess it took awhile to get up the steam to actually get started... I talked myself out of trips to the grocery store to get the food I need to start Atkins a number of times, but I've finally done it!

The last time I went to the doctor(last week for bronchitis) I weighed in at 355. That's... damn, that's high. I have gained weight like never before since July, when I was almost down to 300. The life changes and stress have definitely had me turning towards comfort foods and just not worrying about what I eat and eating out literally every meal for a few months. 355 is about 25 pounds more than I've ever been before, so this is a pretty big challenge, but its an important one too, I just don't feel good at this weight at all.


So I've made the switch to water, and to low carb foods, I made sure to bring a few different things into the office for snacks and lunches to keep me from being tempted to go out(or order in, which the rest of the office does a couple times a week).

I'm not really sure where I'll be able to weigh myself on a weekly basis for a little while, my scale isn't accurate over 320. We have a workout center in the office, but last time I checked, no scale there.

The plan for this week is just to stick to my guns and cook the meat I bought, eat the salad I've got, and get into induction in Atkins. I need to go for a walk a few days after work as well.

Radii you can do it! Have faith! Push for it!

I dropped 35 pounds total in 3 1/2 weeks and I have been able to keep the bulk of it off. I did it through meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch, with citrus fruits between the two and between lunch and dinner, I then ate a healthy dinner.

But it was the cardio workout that I feel did the bulk of it. 30 minutes on a stair master broken down into 10 minute sets and a 1 to 2 minute break between them.With each set going up a difficulty level.

If you need anyone to talk to, PM me, I will help out as best as I can.

[Ksyrup]

35 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks!? Damn, I feel like a slacker! :)

Take the plunge, Radii. Once you start losing and see the results, it will be the perfect motivation to keep going and to stay focused. You just have to get yourself going first, which I know is not easy.

[Lorena]

Well its been a month since I posted here, I guess it took awhile to get up the steam to actually get started... I talked myself out of trips to the grocery store to get the food I need to start Atkins a number of times, but I've finally done it!

The last time I went to the doctor(last week for bronchitis) I weighed in at 355. That's... damn, that's high. I have gained weight like never before since July, when I was almost down to 300. The life changes and stress have definitely had me turning towards comfort foods and just not worrying about what I eat and eating out literally every meal for a few months. 355 is about 25 pounds more than I've ever been before, so this is a pretty big challenge, but its an important one too, I just don't feel good at this weight at all.


So I've made the switch to water, and to low carb foods, I made sure to bring a few different things into the office for snacks and lunches to keep me from being tempted to go out(or order in, which the rest of the office does a couple times a week).

I'm not really sure where I'll be able to weigh myself on a weekly basis for a little while, my scale isn't accurate over 320. We have a workout center in the office, but last time I checked, no scale there.

The plan for this week is just to stick to my guns and cook the meat I bought, eat the salad I've got, and get into induction in Atkins. I need to go for a walk a few days after work as well.

You CAN do it Radii!! I have faith in you and the program you will be following. Eggs are a must have in our household and I can't imagine a breakfast without them. I found out that having eggs and canadian bacon for breakfast with a cup of green tea really, really help.

[Lorena]

dola,

I got measured on Tuesday and I lost 2.5 inches... ya me! But compared to the monstrous number I pulled during the 3 week Fitness Study (8.75 inches), 2 inches doesn't seem much, but a loss is a loss is a loss.

I lost the following last month:

Waist -0.25 inches
Hips (butt) -0.25 inches
Thighs -2 inches (combined)

Curves records show me as losing 13 inches and 2 lbs. That's a lot of inches for not a lot of weight, but I'm still determined.

I have incorporated jogging into my workouts so we'll see how that goes.

Good work everyone!!

[Ksyrup]

I've been sick for the past several days, only worked out once for the past week, and hadn't really concentrated on the diet, so I was pleasantly surprised when I weighed in this morning. I lost 5.5 pounds and am officially under my original target weight. Yay! I've got about 10 more pounds to go and then I'll start to increase the amount I eat during the day. I'm also going away on business this coming weekend, so that should prove to be a nice challenge.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 180.0 lbs (11/26/06)
Current: 174.5 lbs (12/02/06)
Goal: 165 lbs (1/15/07)
Total Loss: 50.5 lbs

[Ksyrup]

Seems we've all kinda slowed down for the holidays, huh? Since I'm so near my goal weight, I've started being less strict with my diet, so my weight loss for the past 2 weeks was down some. I did have a huge Mexican dinner on Saturday night which I was not happy with myself about 5 minutes after I finished. I ate way too much and knew it immediately...which is a good thing.

I'm going to be pushing hard the next 2 weeks to lose that final 5 pounds. I'd like to go into the new year with no weight to lose, just a new diet and exercise regimen to maintain.

Start: 225.0 lbs (9/10/06)
Previous: 174.5 lbs (12/02/06)
Current: 170.0 lbs (12/16/06)
Goal: 165 lbs (1/15/07)
Total Loss: 55.0 lbs

[Lorena]

Haven't posted since 11/12/06, oops. I haven't been true to my diet (no sugar, but have had white flour). I'm still going to the gym 3 times a week, and went jogging yesterday... boy was that killer! My legs aren't as sore as the first time I did it, but it felt good. I will probably do that a few times this week on top of the gym:

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Previous Weight (11/12/06): 186.2
Current Weight (12/18/06): 187.8
Total loss: - 6.6 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 62.8 lbs.

Yup, I gained a little over a pound in a month; I'm pretty sure it's muscle because I'm starting to see definition on my legs, so I don't feel completely bad about it.

Ksyrup, you're freaking awesome man! So are there any before/after pics?

[Ksyrup]

I've been meaning to put some pics up. I don't have a great one of me recently, just the family pics we took a few weeks back for our Christmas cards. I'll find something to post.

[Ksyrup]

BTW, I have also transitioned from full cardio workout to 30 minutes of cardio and 15-20 minutes of weights. I seriously need to do something about my upper body - it's pathetic. I'm going to the gym tonight, Wednesday, and hopefully Friday night or Saturday morning.

[Lorena]

I found out that they're having a "Snowball Fight" at Curves. This is a sort of competition that started yesterday and will end January 31st. The top 6 people win some sort of a prize... dunno what it is. We earn snowballs by working out, by wearing certain clothing, lose a certain amount of weight/inches and all kinds of other stuff. Well, since I'm extremely competetive, I have to win this thing (by winning, I mean 1st place, 2nd-6th is not an option). I'm WAAAAAAY behind, the top person is 10 snowballs ahead of me, so I'm gonna have to really bust my ass and lose about 5 lbs by next week to catch up... yikes! I'm gonna have to start South Beach Induction to lose that weight and really stick to it. I found out that jogging once around our apt. complex is about half a mile, so I'm gonna have to crank it up.

That chick will not beat me!!!

[Ksyrup]

I finally got my wife to take some pictures of me last night, so some time this weekend I'll try to post some "before and after" pics. After a couple of workouts this week and picking my way through the company holiday luncheon, I weighed in this morning at just under 168! Woo-hoo!

Tonight we're going to some friends for dinner and they're having...pizza. Ugh. I told my wife if they aren't having salad, we're bringing it! One slice and some salad, that's all I'm going to have - and I'm not exactly thrilled about that, even. I'm on a mission, dammit!

[Ksyrup]

I realized tonight how few pictures we have of ourselves...99% are of the kids. Anyway, these are the best I could do. The first is from May, before we moved from Tallahassee. I was probably another 5 pounds or so heavier before I started my diet. The second pic is from last night. I had to resize them to fit in the post, which made them fuzzy.

Before:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1204206/ASVGJ-IMG_0727_2.jpg



After:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1204206/HOCAQ-IMG_1560_2.jpg

[Lorena]

Wow Ksyrup, you look pretty hot, great job!!

[Lorena]

I got measured today at Curves and I was shocked as hell to find out that I lost 7 inches in 1 month!! Wow, I was really, really surprised because my parents were here from out of town and well, my bad eating habits came in. I ate a whole bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos and completely forgot I was gonna get measured today.

Soo.. I've lost a total of 16.5 inches since 10/06/06 and a whopping 4.25 lbs.! LOL :p

Bust: -1.25
Waist: -3.0
Thighs: -3.0
Arms: -2.0
Abdomen: -2.25
Hips (ass): -5.0

I'm not exactly sure where I stand with the competition thing, but with my 20 snowballs today I'm not doing so bad :cool:

[Radii]

You CAN do it Radii!! I have faith in you and the program you will be following. Eggs are a must have in our household and I can't imagine a breakfast without them. I found out that having eggs and canadian bacon for breakfast with a cup of green tea really, really help.


Holiday stress, moving stress, family stress has just been killing me. I haven't been gaining but I'm not sure if I've been losing any weight either. After Monday I am in my new apartment, a 10 minute drive to the office instead of an hour, and I have been getting a lot of exercise this last week finishing up packing and moving. My new aparmtnent is lower level so I go up a flight of stairs anytime I head out to the car. Every muscle in my body aches after taking a number of loads of stuff into the apartment the last couple days.

A number of times in the last couple of months(since I started reading here and making the occasional post indicating my interest in losing weight) I've been good for a couple days but no more than that. Here's hoping the time freed up from the commute, the forced flight of stairs a number of times a day, the reduction in stress after just a couple more days when the move is finally, fully, complete, and the excersize from the last week kickstart me in the right direction for good!

[Radii]

Also, BIG congrats to KSyrup and Dodgerchick for keeping the activity going here and for having such success!

[Lorena]

Holiday stress, moving stress, family stress has just been killing me. I haven't been gaining but I'm not sure if I've been losing any weight either. After Monday I am in my new apartment, a 10 minute drive to the office instead of an hour, and I have been getting a lot of exercise this last week finishing up packing and moving. My new aparmtnent is lower level so I go up a flight of stairs anytime I head out to the car. Every muscle in my body aches after taking a number of loads of stuff into the apartment the last couple days.

A number of times in the last couple of months(since I started reading here and making the occasional post indicating my interest in losing weight) I've been good for a couple days but no more than that. Here's hoping the time freed up from the commute, the forced flight of stairs a number of times a day, the reduction in stress after just a couple more days when the move is finally, fully, complete, and the excersize from the last week kickstart me in the right direction for good!

The fact that you haven't gained is an accomplishment IMO. I hope everything goes well and your'e right, stress can wreak havoc on diets. Just remember, eggs are your friend :p

Also, BIG congrats to KSyrup and Dodgerchick for keeping the activity going here and for having such success!

Thanks!!

Now that Ksyrup lost his weight, I hope he continues to post here so we can get tips on how to maintain the weight.

[Ksyrup]

I hope I have some tips to pass along! I've said to friends and family that the more impressive accomplishment will be what I weigh in December 2007, rather than what I weigh right now. The biggest thing for me will be keeping up the workouts. I went this past Wednesday night and yesterday morning, and plan to get back to the 3-a-weeks after January 1. That will help in a big way.

And thanks for the compliments. I wouldn't say I look "hot" by a long stretch, but funny enough, since my weight loss coincided with Mario Lopez's run on Dancing With the Stars, I've been getting a lot of "You look JUST like that Mario Lopez guy!" comments. Which is pretty ridiculous, IMO (for one thing, I'm Greek not Latino!), but who am I to argue? :cool:

[Lorena]

Hmmm.... your dimples do give you a sort of Mario Lopez kinda look.

Well, talk about screwing up a diet. I hadn't had "real" beer in a long, long time and I downed a 6 pack of Coronas and 2 big 'ol bags of chips in the last 2 days so I did very, very bad. My goal is to lose the weight I gained and lose 15 lbs by Janurary 27th (which is when I get measured again). If I lose 10 lbs. I'll be alright, but I gotta lose at least 5 inches by the time this month is over so I can get more snowballs.

I'm starting today with a half hour jog around our apt complex and on to the gym tomorrow.

[Ksyrup]

I was bad yesterday, too, but I'm not worried about it. I plan on hitting the gym tonight, Thursday, and Saturday, and I'm getting back to my diet again. As long as I keep up with the workouts and eat like I have been for the past few months, I'll be alright for when I indulge every now and then. At least that's the theory I'm operating under to start the new year!

[Ksyrup]

So I had a physical yesterday, my first since August of 2003 (which, ironically, I posted about here (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=12651&highlight=ksyrup+cholesterol), after I lost a bunch of weight last time using Atkins - and promptly gained it all back). Everything was normal, and I'm going back tomorrow to draw blood for a cholesterol/thyroid/whatever else check. Will be interesting to see how I fare and compare it to my 2003 post-Atkins check.

[Ksyrup]

Alright people, let's get back into the swing of things! Let's see some reports!

I'm down to 163 as of this morning. I've pretty much made my goal, now I have to work on finding a happy medium between not losing any more and maintaining a semi-consistent weight. I'd like to stay between 160 and 165. Right now, I'm still losing without trying because I've gotten so used to eating so little food, I either don't want more than I'm already eating, or I still have that mentality of trying to limit how much I'm eating. It's a strange feeling, considering where I was 4 months ago.

I'm taking little steps, though, like taking the kids for pizza once and eating ice cream (Edy's Slow Churned - especially the new Yogurt Blends stuff - tastes great and is pretty low-cal/fat for ice cream)., so I think I'll be OK.

[Lorena]

I've had a pretty bad 2 weeks including exercise. I started jogging on the treadmill sometime last week and messed up my knee. I'm still exercising although not like I did before. I think the last time I weighed myself I was at 190, so that's about 2 lbs. less than when I joined this dynasty! DOH :eek:

Next time I want chips or muffins, I'm gonna have to make my own cuz the store kind is too darn convenient.

[Radii]

Update!

The diet isn't going. At all. I haven't made any noticible changes to my diet. I intend to. I have to. But anything I've attempted hasn't lasted more than a day. But, regardless, there is good news.

I bought a scale that goes up to real big numbers.

Initial Weight(11/25/06): 355
Current Weight(1/9/07): 348.7


So I haven't successfully changed my diet yet, but I'm down about 6 pounds, so I'm happy. The beginnings of weight loss can be attributed to one thing... MOVING. Holy shit moving sucks. But it makes you get exercise, whether you want to or not. I paid for cleaning service, dumpster service, moving service... any service I could find, but I still had to pack, and had a ton of cleaning to do on my own, and ended up worn out many days.

So now that the move is over, I've set a few things up to keep myself from drifting back to total lethargy:

1) Stairs at work. Come on, I'm on the 2nd floor. There is no need to EVER take the elevator.
2) no using the car to get the mail or take out trash at the apartment complex.
3) DDR is fun(and I'm a dork). Play DDR!
4) Do some resistance exercise every day. More on this in another update.

I'm not giving up on eating well, but I'm finding some immediate success focusing on getting more exercise, and really I've been so lazy for so long that i'm just trying to turn anything that comes naturally into a habit, and I've been consistantly getting 20 minutes of legitimate cardio every day, minimum, sometimes more like 30-45 minutes.

[Lorena]

You're right Radii, moving sucks ass. Ant and I have done is more times than I can remember.

I'm glad to hear you've lost weight without really changing your diet... congrats that's awesome! Imagine how fast your weight will drop once you start your diet?

Little things like parking the car farther at the grocery store, walking to the drug store up the street (as opposed to driving the car), and small changes like that can make a pretty big difference.

Gluck, I'm glad to see you in here again and I'm confident now that you're settled in things will go smoothly.

[NevStar]

Guess I'll get in on this, too.... happy new year!

<b>THE STORY</b>

I've been fat all my life. I have no excuses for this, won't blame anyone else or a "weak metabolism," it's just that food tastes good and exercise is hard. Throughout college, I was around 350 lbs. Three years ago, I was down to 250 lbs (I'm 6'3"), but have since ballooned back up to over 400 lbs.

I'm 29 years old. In the last year, I've been having lots of weight-related health problems. High blood pressure (which I've been medicated for for the last 5 years), borderline high cholesterol, chronic back pain, plantar fasciitis, and a breathing condition which manifests as asthma and has a fancy medical name that I can't remember, but basically means "your gut's so big that your diaphragm can't fully expand).

My doctor first suggested gastric bypass surgery a year ago, and in my last checkup last year has been much more aggressively pushing it. I really don't want to expose myself to the dangers of surgery unless I have to. But my health has deteriorated to the point where I see this as my last chance before surgery.

<b>THE PLAN</b>

<b>Nutrition:</b> Limit myself to 2000-2500 calories a day. At my size, my basal metabolic rate is around 3500, so I should lose 2-3 lbs a week, ignoring exercise.

I've considered using a food journal like www.fitday.com or www.sparkpeople.com to track my food intake, but usually get bored with that after a couple of weeks. For now, I'm just going to estimate by hand. For now, I'm not going to pay attention to fat-carb-protein percentages or sodium count. The most important thing is making calories in < calories out.

<b>Fitness:</b> I've joined a health club, Anytime Fitness. Ideally, I'd like to work out twice a day, 5 times a week, an hour per visit.

Mornings: 30 minutes cardio (usually an elliptical trainer), planning to gradually work up to one hour.

Evenings: Resistance training for 45 minutes, followed by 20-30 minutes cardio.

Right now my weight training will be full body, 3 times a week, just to refamiliarize myself with the equipment. I plan to split that up into upper body-lower body splits, and work each half twice a week (for a weight training schedule like Monday (upper) - Tues (lower) - Thurs (upper) - Fri (lower) ).

Real-life usually makes me eliminate one of those visits (plus, right now, I just don't have the stamina to last longer than 30 minutes on any cardio equipment). I'm also meeting with a personal trainer once a week. During the first visit, he worked a lot on stability & core exercises. It was different from anything I'd ever done & kicked my butt.

<b>STARTING WEIGHT:</b> (as of 1/1/07) 445 lbs
<b>FINAL GOAL:</b> 225 lbs

<b>INTERMEDIATE GOAL:</b> 299 lbs by 11/14/07 - This is aggressive, but I'd like to be in the two hundreds by my 30th birthday.

I'll post first week progress in another post.

[DolphinFan1]

Next time I want chips or muffins, I'm gonna have to make my own cuz the store kind is too darn convenient.


Dodgerchick, you don't know how right you are. Not only are they convenient, they have all kinds of stuff in them to get you to eat more and gain weight. I started baking ALL my own cookies, brownies, muffins, and breads. Using organic ingredients I still eat a lot of sweets but haven't gained a pound since I dropped 25 lbs. last year. My wife has also felt better and lost some weight and we don't feel guilty about eating them.

[Ksyrup]

Wow. Good luck. Please continue to post here with updates on your progress.

I know this sounds corny, but did you watch The Biggest Loser? I'm not much into being "inspired" and such, but...well, it was inspiring. The guy who won it all this year started at 407 and ended up a chiseled 185. It was truly amazing to watch it happen. Now I know the guy had several months of no work, no family distractions, etc., and nothing but time to dedicate to losing weight - and of course a goal of being fit AND $250K richer doesn't hurt either - but after seeing what he did, I believe anyone can lose weight if they really want to. Even as much as you are looking to lose.

My sincere hope for you is that you make my weight loss look like a weekend fast by comparison. :)

[Ksyrup]

Dodgerchick, you don't know how right you are. Not only are they convenient, they have all kinds of stuff in them to get you to eat more and gain weight. I started baking ALL my own cookies, brownies, muffins, and breads. Using organic ingredients I still eat a lot of sweets but haven't gained a pound since I dropped 25 lbs. last year. My wife has also felt better and lost some weight and we don't feel guilty about eating them.

I'm not quite to this point yet, but might get there. Right now I'm just avoiding cookies, although with chips, I've been eating Sun Chips occasionally. The biggest thing, by far, is to take what you want to eat from the package and put the package away before you start eating. I've found it much easier to control my urges when I would have to physically go back to the pantry, open the bag, and take more. I'm able to shame myself into not going through with it before that happens. I basically look at the calories on the bag, decide how many I can have, only take that many, and that's the end of it.

[NevStar]

PROGRESS (1/1 - 1/8)

I spent New Years' Day searching for a health club. I'm kicking myself for waiting for the new year to start this & applaud you guys in this thread for starting last year, without waiting for a calendar change to catalyze you. Suprisingly, most of the clubs I look at are closed... you'd think it'd be a good day to pick up new memberships. I narrow my search down to 2 clubs: Anytime Fitness & O-2. O-2 is huge, has sparkling new equipment, and fru-fru cardio "theme" rooms. The "pump room" has lots of bright lights, while the "getaway room" is pitch dark and supposedly more relaxing (not sure how relaxed you're supposed to be working out, but *shrug*). Anytime, on the other hand, is much smaller and no-frills. However, they're open 24 hours, and are a national chain. There's one branch close to my house & one close to work. That clinched it for me (well that, plus, the cute manager who smiled & batted her eyes at me... I'm a sucker). After doing a complementary, trial workout at both places, on Wednesday I sign up at Anytime Fitness.

I worked out everyday except Saturday. I started only being able to go 10 minutes on the elliptical and worked my way up to 20.

Eating was not as good. I do well until about 10 pm, when I find myself starving & binging on a late-night snack, usually chips & guacamole. I'm going to try to correct that by eating more during breakfast & lunch, since I probably wasn't eating enough before.

Starting Weight: 445
Current Weight (1/8): 438 (-7)
Total Weight Lost: 7

[Lorena]

I've yet to miss a season of the Biggest Loser and honestly, I get my inspiration from them. Never in my wildest dreams did I even consider jogging at my weight but after watching the show, I felt I could and it has helped. I haven't lost a lot of weight, but have lost a lot of inches and that's progress.

Nev I'm rooting for you and it can be done, gluck with it. I'm not sure how much of the dynasty you've read, but I have a lot of information regarding SouthBeach if ya want it.

've found it much easier to control my urges when I would have to physically go back to the pantry, open the bag, and take more. I'm able to shame myself into not going through with it before that happens. I basically look at the calories on the bag, decide how many I can have, only take that many, and that's the end of it.

Out of sight, out of mind... good idea. I'll have to do that so I don't get tempted with the snacks that I buy for Ant and the kids.

[NevStar]

Ksyrup,

I did watch the whole season. I'm all for using that show as a motivational tool, but am trying not to use it as a measuring stick.

Not only are they sequestered away from everything with nothing to focus on but their own weight loss, but apparently the producers mess with time between weigh-ins in order to get more dramatic results. So, the time between weigh-ins is sometimes 10-14 days. I suspect actually losing 20 lbs in a week is next to impossible, even if you weight 400 lbs & have a dedicated personal trainer.

The biggest thing, by far, is to take what you want to eat from the package and put the package away before you start eating. I've found it much easier to control my urges when I would have to physically go back to the pantry, open the bag, and take more.

Agreed! This is very good advice.

[Ksyrup]

PROGRESS (1/1 - 1/8)

I'm kicking myself for waiting for the new year to start this & applaud you guys in this thread for starting last year, without waiting for a calendar change to catalyze you.




Eating was not as good. I do well until about 10 pm, when I find myself starving & binging on a late-night snack, usually chips & guacamole. I'm going to try to correct that by eating more during breakfast & lunch, since I probably wasn't eating enough before.

For me, it was getting through a move and passing the Kentucky Bar that removed enough stress from my life to allow me to concentrate on losing the weight. So there was a change in my life, it just wasn't on the calendar. Whatever gets you motivated...

As far as the late-night munchies, you'll just have to work hard at it. I stay up late, usually until midnight, so this was hard. Here are my best tips for nighttime:

1. Try not to eat anything after 8pm, earlier if you go to sleep at 10 or before. The latest I eat a snack is between 8:30 and 9 on the nights I workout, and even then, I eat my snack before I shower to get it over with.

2. Drink lots of water to fill you up. This doesn't just apply to nighttime, either. I drink as much water as I can handle all day long. Alternatively, I've turned into a tea freak since the diet started, you could drink tea to add some flavor if you need it. And tea is a diuretic, so it helps your weight loss. Green tea is the best kind to drink (although I don't limit it to green).

3. Eat mints/chew gum. Same rationale as the water/tea. I've also become mint-crazy since the diet started, and there are tons of great-tastes no/low cal mints out there.

4. Brush your teeth early every night. Snacks don't taste quite so good in a minty mouth. :)

In general, get into an eating routine as best you can. During the work week is extremely easy for me now, because I've gotten into a routine for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and daily water intake during work hours that keeps me on track. I basically choose from the same sets of food/calories for each meal. Once I get home, all that's left is dinner and evening snack. Much easier to control when you've only got 2 meals as "wildcards." Weekends take more resolve to keep under control, but with weight loss, it's all about resolve.

Hope this helps!

[Ksyrup]

Ksyrup,

I did watch the whole season. I'm all for using that show as a motivational tool, but am trying not to use it as a measuring stick.

Not only are they sequestered away from everything with nothing to focus on but their own weight loss, but apparently the producers mess with time between weigh-ins in order to get more dramatic results. So, the time between weigh-ins is sometimes 10-14 days. I suspect actually losing 20 lbs in a week is next to impossible, even if you weight 400 lbs & have a dedicated personal trainer.



Agreed! This is very good advice.

I suspected as much, and certainly, you shouldn't try to measure up to any specific person as much as take from it the fact that he was able to do it - even if that means it will take you 2 or 3 times as long to get where you want to be (let alone where he is).

[Ksyrup]

So I got my blood work results back yesterday, and I'm pretty damn happy about them. Given my diet for the past several months, I somewhat expected that my cholesterol would be good (it better be!), but it was even better than I expected.

Here are my results:

Cholesterol - 113 (goal is <200)
Triglyceride - 49 (goal is <150)
HDL - 44 (goal is >40)
LDL - 59 (goal is <130)

For comparison, here are the results from my blood test from 2003 that I posted about previously, from when I was on Atkins:

Cholesterol - 175
Triglyceride - 70
HDL - 46
LDL - 115

Everything is much, much better other than my HDL level, which is about the same. The odd thing about the HDL is that I've pretty much done everything there is to raise my HDL level that is recommended. I'm wondering if my HDL level dropped during the past 3 years, and the new reading is actually an improvement from where it has been, but not compared to where it was in 2003. We'll have to see where it is in a year, but that's the only explanation that makes sense to me.

[Lorena]

The 2003 numbers don't look too bad but dang, your numbers now are awesome! Congratulations you did very very well in a span of 5 months is it?

WTG and thanks for the update.

[Radii]

From the thread Ksyrup bumped... August 2003:


dropped from 315 to 288


288... that was the magic diet. That's the only one I've ever had worthwhile success with. Not just Atkins, but that specific attempt on Atkins. I've dropped to 300 a number of times before, but I seem to plateau there. That is the only time since I originally went over 300 pounds around age 24 that I got back down below 290.

No point to that post really, I just forgot how well I had done dieting that time and how much money I saved from eating out and how good I felt.

[Radii]

Only 6 days between weigh ins, but I'd like to start doing this Monday mornings.

Stats
Starting weight (11/25/06): 355
Previous Weight (1/9/07: 348.7
Current Weight (1/15/07): 345.5
Total loss: - 9.5 lbs


Still no diet changes, but I have been getting more exercise, and I am working to turn the new exercise regimen into a legitimate habit. That is by far the most important thing for me right now, though I am going to start drinking more water and less bad stuff this week.

[Lorena]

That's great progress Radii!! Sounds like you got over one of the biggest hurdles in making your workouts a habit so congrats on that!

[Lorena]

dola,

and thanks for bumping this radii. I haven't posted my results in over a month? Yikes!!

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Previous Weight (12/18/06): 187.8
Current Weight (01/15/07): 189.2
Total loss: - 5.2 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 64.2 lbs.

Wow, I was actually at 185 at one point and I haven't seen that number in over a month. The good think is that like Radii, I have made working out a habit. I've been going at least 4 times a week for at least half an hour so that's a big plus.

My new years resolution is to lose this weight by the end of the year, so if I remain dedicated to the diet and lose 2 lbs. a week, I should be able to accomplish that goal.

EDIT: I meant to ask, does anyone know of any alcoholic beverages that are okay to have when dieting? I don't know diddley about red wine so I don't even know where to start.

[Ksyrup]

We had a "bad" weekend of good food, so I gained a little this weekend, but we forced ourselves to the gym last night. I had my first hamburger and fries since late August/early September. Now it's just a matter of getting back to my new normal routine to work it off. Even though I'm at the point where I can afford to gain a little, I don't want to get into that habit. The balancing act is going to be a difficult one.

Congrats Radii for a good week!

[NevStar]

<b>WEEK 2</b>

This week I started off fantastically. I exercised every day from Sunday thru Thursday. I had my first personal training session, where my trainer had me doing lots of core & body weight exercises. It's very different from what I've ever done before. I was kind of disappointment that he didn't give a little more structure... I work with him once a week, but work by myself another 4-5 times a week, no plan for those days? I think I have enough knowledge to implement my own plan that will mesh well with the work I do with him, but would like to have seen a suggestion from him.


I visited my family from Friday thru Monday. It didn't start so well & ended even worse. My parents picked me up at the airport & on the ride home we stopped at a restaurant. I had already eaten, but my parents insisted I order something.

"What do you mean you'll just have coffee? You like this ham & sausage skillet, order it!"

"Well, ok... (I can just skip breakfast tomorrow, I guess)"

This continued & by the end of the weekend, it was..

"Do I want a third piece of cake? Of course I do!"

I was disappointed by my lack of willpower & stunned that since I was around people who've known me all my life as the fat, lazy guy, I reverted back to what they thought I was. I got no exercise (apart from wrestling with the dog for 10 minutes).

Since it's impossible to lock myself in an isolation tank for 9 months while I lose weight, I'm going to have to come to terms with this. If I can't change other people's perceptions of me, I'm going to have to do my best to resist them.

<b>RESULTS</b>
Since I was out of town, this weigh-in was one day later.

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
<b>Last Week's Weight:</b> 438
<b>Current Weight (1/16):</b> 434 (-4)
<b>Total Weight Lost:</b> 11

Fortunately, my weekend binge didn't hurt too much (only a one pound gain from an unofficial weigh-in on Wednesday). I have another training session tonight & want to get right back into the swing of things. I took a minute to feel bad about my failure this weekend & hope to start right back up again.

[Ksyrup]

I had to take the hard line stance, too. You're just going to have to do it. Be honest with your family about what your goals are, hhow you feel, and how you would like them to treat you and respect your commitment to losing weight. Did you even tell them what you were doing?

I even had to justify the "all or nothing" approach to my wife, who was dieting at the same time I was. She just couldn't understand my mentality, despite my explaining how difficult it is to only have a taste but no more. It still is, to some degree, but now that the weight is off, that's the part I am concentrating on. I let myself go a little this past weekend and will consider it a major success if I'm able to bounce right back to the type of diet I need to maintain with no problem.

[Ksyrup]

Well, I'm pretty pleased that I was able to easily burn off the bad weekend of food this week with good eating and a couple of workouts. My "problem" now is that I continue to lose weight - I weighed in at 159.8 this morning. As cool as it is to see a "150-something" on the scale, I really don't want to lose any more weight. I have increased my calorie intake a little to help with it, but honestly, I don't feel like I'm hungry enough to add too much food and I don't want to eat just to eat.

I have added a couple more servings of fruit during the day, some nuts, and I'm drinking that V8 Frusion stuff. I've never had V8 before, and we've been buying it for our 2 year old, but she didn't like the blueberry/pomegranite, so we tried it and really like it. And, I'm allowing myself to have ice cream as well - the Edy's slow churned and yogurt blend versions, which are great.

We'll just see how it goes, but I can't afford to go much lower because I've already gone through so many new clothes I'll go broke if I have to get more.

[NevStar]

Heh,

A few months ago did you ever think you'd be having this problem. "Oh no! I'm losing too much weight!" :)

Have you tried adding some resistance training to your exercise? Increasing your % of carbs (which I've guess you've started with the extra fruit servings)? Those would add more mass & slow the weight loss.

[Ksyrup]

What I've transitioned to at the gym is about 25 minutes of cardio/fat burning on an elliptical and another 20 minutes or so on weights, mainly concentrating on upper body (arms and chest). I've already seen a little improvement with my arms What I need to do a better job with is crunches and push-ups at home on the nights I don't work out. The tendency is to put the kids to bed and sit down to watch TV for the rest of the night. I definitely want to tighten up my mid-section.

I'm experimenting with what and how much to add to my diet. Right now it's a double-edged sword that I don't feel like I need to eat more. I guess long-term, I want to keep that feeling, but within reason.

[Radii]

Stats
Starting weight (11/25/06): 355
Previous Weight (1/15/07): 345.5
Current Weight (1/22/07): 344.7
Total loss: - 10.3 lbs

I woke up this morning psyching myself up to write a post about how I'd gained weight(instead of ignoring this thread and only posting when I have good news, which is a problem I've had in the past). I have no idea how I lost anything, even less than a pound.

The World of Warcraft expansion came out last week. I basically did nothing but play that and go to work. I didn't exercise and I sure as hell didn't watch what I ate(how could I, i'd have to take my eyes off the computer screen!!). And that was fun for a week but I'll be getting back to "normal" this week, getting some exercise every day and working on cutting back the sodas.

[Ksyrup]

Stick with it, man! I've been successfully negotiating my addiction to NCAA Football '07 and still finding time to exercise...although I am concerned for you, since my only experience with WoW is that South Park episode where they all got enormously fat with back acne and shit.

In another positive sign for how much things have changed for me and my wife, we went to Olive Garden Saturday night for the first time in about 8-10 months and could barely finish half of our meals. I had 2 plates of salad, no bread sticks, and took home enough food for dinner the next night. We're considering splitting a meal next time we go out to dinner to save money, since we can't/don't want to finish what they give us anyway. After eating "sensible" portions for so long, it's amazing how much food we get at restaurants and don't even think about it when we clean our plates. I know I used to not only eat that entire meal, but 2-3 bread sticks as well.

[NevStar]

WEEK 3

Had a very good week--omitting Sunday, where I allowed myself some chips & guacamole while rooting for the Bears. Worked out everyday Tues thru Saturday. Getting into a routine, which is good, I think.

Since Radii posted about WoW, I'll add that I got rehooked on WoW in December, and was convinced that I could keep my subscription & still lose the weight that I wanted. That idea quickly dissolved, and I quickly decided I would just stop cold turkey. I've also watched much less TV (and will watch even less once the football season is over). As uninteresting as it will make me seem, I feel like I need to keep focused on a healthy lifestyle.

I watched this Primetime special last week about people with morbid obesity. They featured this guy who weighed about 800 pounds, lost over 600 pounds, then promptly gained it all back. He's living in an assisted living home for the obese, now. He said something that had a great impact... "How successful would a recovering alcoholic be if he had to take three sips of alcohol a day, in order to live?" I'm always going to struggle with food, even if I make it down to my goal weight. And it's an interesting thought, to compare me with a recovering addict. Which is why I think I need limit the "cheat days," limit the unhealthy time sinks, and stay focused... to avoid a relapse.

RESULTS

When I stepped on the scale this morning I was temporarily worried that one reasonably bad day would supress a week's worth of effort. But, I had nothing to worry about:


Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 434
Current Weight (1/23): 426 (-8)
Total Weight Lost: 19

[Ksyrup]

Awesome! Congrats.

I agree about eliminating the cheat days, at least until you've gotten used to eating the way you know you're going to need to eat from now on and are better prepared to handle it. And I wouldn't give yourself a cheat "day," either. I'm just now getting comfortable with adding back things I took away from myself while I was losing weight, but the way I'm doing it is not, "I really miss BBQ, so I'm going to give myself a "cheat" tonight by going to an all you can eat BBQ place." The one thing I'm learning is that it's all about combining portion control with frequent eating. You have to do both. So if I decide to treat myself to pizza, I'll eat 2 pieces, tops, but make sure that I've had a decent snack 2-3 hours before and follow it up with another snack/meal 2-3 after.

The way I'm setting up my diet now is to eat 5-6 meals 2-4 hours apart. It's what I've always heard and never followed, but it really seems to be the best way to do it. I'm eating about 300-350 calories for breakfast, a mid-morning snack around 200 calories, a 350-500 calorie lunch, another 200 calorie snack, a 400-500 calorie dinner, and a 150-200 calorie evening snack. That's somewhere between 1700 and 2000 calories, which I hope will help me maintain my weight. If not, I can adjust up and down to compensate, but the structure will remain in place. What I don't want to do is decide I'm going to cheat one day, cut out the healthy snacks/lunch to make room for the "cheat" dinner, and eat half a pizza or a huge bowl of ice cream or whatever it is you want that you can't have. Instead, having eaten constantly throughout the day, you'll be far more satisfied with a small portion of pizza or a cup of ice cream than you realize.

That's not to say the transition won't be tough, but the light is finally coming on for me and I now realize this is the only way for me to keep the weight off long-term.

[NevStar]

Thanks.


The way I'm setting up my diet now is to eat 5-6 meals 2-4 hours apart. It's what I've always heard and never followed, but it really seems to be the best way to do it. I'm eating about 300-350 calories for breakfast, a mid-morning snack around 200 calories, a 350-500 calorie lunch, another 200 calorie snack, a 400-500 calorie dinner, and a 150-200 calorie evening snack. That's somewhere between 1700 and 2000 calories, which I hope will help me maintain my weight.

I've read this in various places, too & thought it was a good idea.

Do you have any advice for how to prepare all these extra meals? Do you just pack 3 meals in the morning for work every day? Use lots of single-serving yogurt & cottage cheese?

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, I use a combo of single-serving fruits, puddings and yogurts (around 60 calories each usually) and regular fruit (pears, bananas, grapes mostly), and snack foods like mixed nuts, the Weight Watchers snack cakes/muffins, sun chips, and South Beach high protein cereal bars.

I basically eat one fruit and one snack food for each snack, and usually pair a Lean Cuisine with a yogurt or pudding for lunch. For breakfast, I usually have a cup of cereal/milk, a South Beach breakfast wrap, oatmeal/cream of wheat, or an english muffin with PB and a piece of fruit and a small cup of V8 Frusion. Dinner is more of a wild card depending on what the family eats, but I either eat my own food or small portions of what they eat and a salad. The evening snack is usually a 100 calorie bag of popcorn, fruit, or a cup of Edy's Slow Churn Ice Cream.

[MacroGuru]

Well, I fell off the diet wagon a bit...a lot of turmoil in my life since Sept...so I am up to 200, I know it is only a 10 pound gain, but you can see it. And I don't want to break the 200 barrier again.

So back to the gym and on my STACK Shake diet. It won't be to hard, and depending on my medical condition and where I land a new job, I am shooting to play football again.

[Lorena]

I'm starting to feel a bit discouraged. I workout out quite a bit and eat pretty healthy but the weight is not coming off, I gained 0.8 lbs.

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Previous Weight (12/18/06): 189.2
Current Weight (01/22/07): 190.0
Total loss: - 4.4 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 64.2 lbs.

I'll update later, didn't wanna forget.

[Ksyrup]

Sorry to hear things aren't progressing as you hoped they would. Are you keeping your portions in check? You might be eating better food, but are you eating too much, or at the wrong time (late night snacks)? Hard to know what the problem is.

[Ksyrup]

Well, I fell off the diet wagon a bit...a lot of turmoil in my life since Sept...so I am up to 200, I know it is only a 10 pound gain, but you can see it. And I don't want to break the 200 barrier again.

So back to the gym and on my STACK Shake diet. It won't be to hard, and depending on my medical condition and where I land a new job, I am shooting to play football again.

This is something I'm going to have to be on the lookout for. My most recent weight gain was partially just laziness and enjoying to eat whatever I wanted, but a lot of it was work/life-related stress from my job and then the move/taking the Bar, etc. It's no coincidence that I felt relieved of enough stress that I started losing weight about the time that life settled back into some sort of normalcy for us. So the next stressful event that occurs, I'm going to have to watch out.

Good luck with the job issue and with keeping yourself in shape during a stressful time.

[Lorena]

Radii: grats on the loss! I remember when EverQuest first came out we did the opposite; we hardly ate so we called it "The EverQuest Diet".

NevStar: wow, 3 weeks and you lost 19 lbs. that's very impressive! I like how you compared alcoholism to obesity. I have a weakness for chocolate. I can't have just 1; it's like a drug once I have one, I need more. It was very difficult when I worked in an office because there was chocolate everywhere, but I have trained myself to say no right off the bat and so far so good.

MacroGuru: hope you find something soon and know you're in my thoughts.

Sorry to hear things aren't progressing as you hoped they would. Are you keeping your portions in check? You might be eating better food, but are you eating too much, or at the wrong time (late night snacks)? Hard to know what the problem is.

You hit it right on the head Ksyrup, my problem is with portion control. Not only that, but I eat a lot of tortillas, bread and English Muffins. I'm really anal about reading labels so everything that goes in my shopping cart is good for us, but dangit, I just eat too much of it.

I weighed myself this morning and lost weight, thank goodness. I know what the problem is and I'll have to either take it easy on them or completely eliminate it from my diet. I'm gonna really make it a point to pick up the SouthBeach Diet book and look at the Phase 1 Food List and follow it to a T.

Anyway, thanks Ksyrup for being here and keeping us on check :)

[Ksyrup]

No problem; given my history, I'm sure I'll be in a position to need help from you guys at some point in the future!

[Lorena]

*sigh*

My husband brought home 3 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. He opened up the Thin Mints (my favorite) and they each grabbed a handful of cookies and asked if I wanted some. I said no thank you and he left them on the counter. I kept going in the kitchen smelling the minty chocolatey yumminess and walked away. I asked him to put them away so I don't see them (out of sight, of of mind - thanks Ksyrup :) ). So here I am on the computer keeping myself occupied so I don't give in to temptation.

I need to get outta here cuz they're eating them right now and it's kinda bugging me that I can't have any. Last week my husband brought home Flaming Hot Cheetos Fries and I grabbed a big handful and that lead to another, to another... I can't do that again. In half an hour I'm a go to the gym and jog/walk on the treadmill for half an hour and hopefully when I come back it won't be as tempting.

Anyway, just wanted to write this down so I can get my mind off of it even if for a few minutes. Thanks for reading.

EDIT: it's 9:31pm and back from the gym. Thankfully this helped with the cravings and I no longer want those cookies. Going to the gym and writing this down helped a lot. I jogged/walked 1.90 miles in half an hour and the average speed was 3.8. Cool, that's up from last week so it's improvement.

[hoopsguy]

Figured I may as well post in here, as I've lurked in this thread on-and-off for about two months.

I'm 5'9" and had watched my weight go as high as 189 before I started to take some action at the start of December. My wife and I purchased a treadmill and I decided that this would be a good time for me to try to kick my caffeine addiction. I was drinking about four cokes a day; going without one for 24 hours would lead to nasty headaches.

I didn't make any dramatic diet decisions. I travel to different clients every day and have yet to show the discipline to pack a lunch. I'm trying to make breakfast a more regular habit, but that is only happening a couple of times a week. And I'm looking to cut down on my portions at dinner, which has gotten a little easier with time.

Anyway, long story short is that I figured that by cutting from four cokes a day to two and getting in about 2.5 hours on the treadmill per week would lead to a reduction of about 4,500 calories per week. Seemed like a good starting point.

This morning was the first time I've weighed in under 180 in about five years. The weight didn't come off in the first three weeks, but after getting past Christmas I've been able to drop about two pounds per week. And after slowly scaling back on the Cokes, I'm down to about 2-3 per week. I'm drinking a lot of water instead, mixing in a Propel from time to time.

I'm basically waiting to find some kind of plateau in the weight loss and then will consider making more meaningful changes to my diet - there is obviously a lot of room for improvement in this area. I'll probably also look to get some basic level of weight-lifting integrated into the routine at that time. I was originally shooting to get down to 170 (about what I weighed at the end of college) but given my lack of muscle mass compared to that time I think 165 is probably a realistic goal.

Thanks to everyone who has been posting their successes, and challenges, in this thread. It definitely helped me get going with my own routine.

[Greyroofoo]

I posted here long ago, however right after I posted I threw my back out and ever since my weight has gone up and I haven't found the motivation to lose it.

Yesterday at my work, I for some reason bet my supervisor that I could lose 20 pounds faster than he could. Other people at my work jumped in on this challenge (though I expect they won't even remember it a week from now). So now I'm gonna start losing weight again. Wish me luck!!!

[NevStar]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 426
Current Weight (1/29): 424 (-2)
Total Weight Lost: 21

I'm fairly sure this reading was a little high. I've been very healthy this whole week. I skipped a Friday night workout & deferred a Saturday night workout to Sunday morning, because I had a migrane, but overall it worked very well. Judging from other times I weighed myself during the week, I was expecting about a -6 or -7 loss this week. That's a problem with using one snapshot to represent an entire week's worth of progress.

I have a doctor who recommends weighing yourself daily (at the same time each day) to "quickly detect any problems." I think that's counter-productive. I gained 6 lbs in one day (clearly this is water weight, because I only ate 2100 calories the day before). If I wasn't seeing the big picture, I could easily get discouraged at this. Numbers are good for quantitative feedback, but use other numbers besides weight, too: your waist measurement, the number of holes on your belt you've gone in, the number of minutes you can run without getting winded, even your resting heart rate. I know all of these are improving, so I don't care so much about the weight.

[Radii]

Stats
Starting weight (11/25/06): 355
Previous Weight (1/12/07): 344.7
Current Weight (1/29/07): 344.1
Total loss: - 10.9 lbs

A second week where I didn't really do much and still lost a little. This is all a sign that if I can really take this seriously and do the things I want to do that the weight is ready to come flying off, but for some reason my mindset just isn't so hot right now. I'm pleased to have lost some weight despite not trying last week, espicially considering that last week was the first stressful week of the new year for me.

[Lorena]

NevStar: I know what you mean about concentrating on how many inches one loses as opposed to the number on the scale. I have lost 3x more in inches than I have in weight. It gets a little discouraging at times though.

Radii: That is a good sign!! I'm trying to get to a point where I don't have to worry about food as much, but dang, those chips get me every time! Not so much the sweets, believe it or not, but the crunchy snacks get me.

[Lorena]

Well, a loss is a loss:

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Previous Weight (01/22/07): 190.0
Current Weight (01/29/07): 188.4
Total loss: - 6.0 lbs
Loss needed to reach desired goal: 63.4 lbs.

I've been plugging my weight on a calendar and have September 1st as the day I should reach my goal. That would be losing 2 lbs a week so we'll see. I went to the gym 3 times a week for half an hour and worked in 2 jogs of half an hour, so that went very well, but I keep late snacking and chips... those darn chips get me everytime.

Anyway, good job guys.

[Greyroofoo]

Well today's the start of my office competition, and not a particularly good day for me, as my food choice wasn't very healthy and I still feel the effects of drinking WAAY to much saturday night.

Start Weight: 168.0

[Lorena]

Well today's the start of my office competition, and not a particularly good day for me, as my food choice wasn't very healthy and I still feel the effects of drinking WAAY to much saturday night.

Start Weight: 164.4
1st Target Weight: 147.8
(We agreed upon 10% loss in 8 weeks)

Good luck roofoo I'm rooting for ya.

[Greyroofoo]

thanks, lets just hope I can avoid throwing out my back.

[Greyroofoo]

Well I motivated myself to get to the gym this evening, spent little over an hour on the bike. Burned about 550 calories according to the machine.

[Lorena]

Crap, I was measured today at Curves and I gained weight and inches. 2 lbs, 1 inch on my hips (butt) and half an inch on my tummy.

Grrr :mad: I went from being dissapointed to upset. No excuses I know what I did and hell, I sabotaged myself again.

Alright, clean slate. I made mistakes but they're correctable. Good thing is that my workouts have been on track.

EDIT to add: I get measured once a month so 2 lbs. and 1 inch ain't all that bad.

[Greyroofoo]

Gotta make sure mistakes don't keep you down. Learn what led you to make the mistake and then learn how to avoid it.

[Ksyrup]

I've been doing a decent job of maintaining my weight for the past couple of weeks. I increased my calories to try to stop losing and have been floating between 157.5 and 160. This week has been hectic and I haven't gotten to the gym, but I'm going to try to go tonight. I did sit-ups on Monday night, so that helped a little.

[Greyroofoo]

Last week 164.4
This Week 168.0 (+3.6)

Yikes, I knew my weight would jump thanks to the superbowl, but I didn't think it'd jump that much. Anyways I feel this week will be a good week :)

[Lorena]

Well, not a good week. I went to the gym twice last week for half an hour and the diet didn't go so well:

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Previous Weight (01/29/07): 188.4
Current Weight (02/0507): 189.6 (+1.2 lbs)

[NevStar]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 424
Current Weight (2/6): 425 (+1)
Total Weight Lost: 20

Have been nursing a cold for the last week, and only exercised twice. Ate a little too much junk during the Super Bowl.

[duckman]

Instead of bringing up my old thread, I'll join this one.

Starting weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Long Term Goal: Lose 40 lbs in 30 weeks

Just started with 30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week. I will increase it to 5 days a week once I get into better shape.

[Ksyrup]

Anyone see the articles about the new over-the-counter weight loss pill that the FDA approved? My first thought was...where the hell was this 6 months ago?!?! :)

Anyway, keep up the good work, people. I'm still doing a pretty good job of maintaining. Been to the gym twice this week after a week off. It was unintended, but we had so much going on with the kids and snow days, etc., that I couldn't get to the gym. I did do situps 3 times to at least keep from being sedentary. Oh, and I pulled the kids and my wife around the yard on a sled, which was tougher than any workout I've had so far.

This morning I weighed in at 159.2. Right in the range I'm trying to stay in.

[NevStar]

The new drug looks to be a reduced-strength version of Xenical, which is a fat-trapper. They seem to be packaging this as a weight loss program, including an eating plan & access to a website.

Might be interesting.

Check out this site hxxp://www.myalli.com

Doing well this week, have been to the gym 3 times, 75 minutes each. Good luck everyone posting their progress.

[hoopsguy]

Down a couple of more pounds, to 177, over the last two weeks. I'm shooting for "under 175" for my birthday (first week of March) so I need to continue to drop a pound a week to accomplish that.

I've made a couple of schedule adjustments, as work has gotten busier, to include more morning treadmill work instead of evenings. However, I'm a night person and I always feel particularly flat in the mornings. So I'm going with longer (35-40 minute) walk sessions instead of 20-30 minute jog/run sessions. Calories burned are in the same 350-500 range, and from what I've read in the running thread in "Off Topic" the longer workouts may be better for me overall.

Continuing to be cognizant of portion control, with the exception of Super Bowl weekend. That was a bad stretch ... good news is that it really didn't seem to set me back in the overall scheme of things. And I'm very happy to be seeing tangible results with my overall energy/stamina during my weekend basketball games.

[duckman]

A nice way to start off the second week. :)

Stats
Starting weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Previous Weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Current Weight (02/11/07): 220.0 (-5.5)

I think I'll need to increase my calorie intake though because it's not very healthy to lose that much weight. I averaged 1675 calories per day this week. I'll bump it up to 1800 to see if I can get the maxium rate of 2 lbs per week.

[NevStar]

Results:

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 425
Current Weight (2/12): 418 (-7)
Total Weight Lost: 27

This week I've bought a kitchen scale (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000YWUY0/104-4538946-0610362) and have been monitoring everything I eat. Usually, it's around 1800-2000 calories. I've still had trouble to find time for 5/6 meals, but have been having 4 meals (eating less at lunch & dinner).

I've now been to the gym 7 straight days. Rock, Rock On!

(edit 2/12 -- just changed the date under current weight, no measurements)

[Greyroofoo]

Last Week: 168
This Week: 165.2 (-2.8)

The week was good but the weekend was all about junk food and drinking.

[Lorena]

That's awesome guys!!

I've been going on a downward spiral and haven't weighed myself in like a week. I'll give an update next week, I don't wanna know how much I weigh right now.

[path12]

I'm going to have to join this thread soon.

[duckman]

Stats
Starting weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Previous Weight (02/11/07): 220.0
Current Weight (02/18/07): 222.0 (-3.5)

I think this is just a correction. It's most likely that my 5.5 lbs loss was mostly water weight. I did lose a quarter of an inch off my waist. I averaged 1778 calories this week, so I know I loss some body fat.

[Greyroofoo]

I'm going to have to join this thread soon.

why not now?

[Greyroofoo]

Last Week: 165.2
This Week: 162.4 (-2.8)

Same story again, a really good week of dieting and exercising but killed it on the weekend.

[Ksyrup]

Last week was really busy so I didn't get to go to the gym at all, but I'm going tonight and making sure I go at least 3 times this week. I'm still maintaining right around 160, which is good considering my lack of exercise.

[path12]

why not now?

I've got a couple other things I have to take care of before adding the stress of a diet.

[NevStar]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 418
Current Weight (2/19): 417 (-1)
Total Weight Lost: 28

The seven straight days of exercise took it's toll, as I now have an upper back strain. Last year I had back spasms in the same area & it took 7 months before I felt better. I hope this isn't as severe.

I only went to the gym twice this week, but I did spend 4 hours on Sunday doing yardwork. Averaged 2500 calories for Mon-Thurs, but didn't track calories on the weekend.

[Lorena]

Nice job guys! I'm trying to get adjusted to my new schedule and a little bit of partying the other day took its toll but I've been really bad. Valentine's Day candy did it in for me... damn that chocolatey goodness.

I need to implement excercise someway somehow. Curves doesn't have a daycare so it makes it difficult to find time to exercise and I'm seriously considering cancelling. Sucks but with the new job, the only time I get to rest is the time I used to go to the gym.

From last week:

Stats
Starting weight (09/09/06): 194.4
Previous Weight (01/29/07): 188.4
Current Weight (02/0507): 189.6 (+1.2 lbs)

I weighed myself a couple of days ago and was at 190 or so.

[Ksyrup]

We have a gym that provides daycare, which has been extremely helpful for my wife. The gym we used to belong to in Florida years back had a daycare as well, but we weren't thrilled with them (they dropped our daughter on her head once!) and we hardly went. Now, we are comfortable with the new gym and usually go at least once or twice right after I get home from work - we drop the kids off and go to the gym for about 45 minutes or so.

Seriously, it is very hard to find the time for the gym, but you just have to do it. Once softball and outdoor soccer start for our 7 year old, things are going to get difficult again. And that's not even factoring in trying to get our 2 year old involved in some activities. Most of the time, I have been going by myself later, after the girls go to sleep. But then that cuts into time I spend with the wife, so it's a catch 22.

[CU Tiger]

Okay, I have procrastinated posting here long enough.
Brief back story.
12 years ago I was in college, playing football, weighed 290lbs and wore size 38 pants. I suffered a major knee injury that resulted in 3 weeks flat on my back and 5 months in a cast (re-injuries and complictaions) needless to say I lost a lot of muscle and my habits changed dramatically.

I followed this up by a 18 month period of depression and self destruction, partying, boozing, drugs, whatever to "feel good". In 98 I finally got my life together, finished college started a family and all that, but never got back in shape.

My weight has rollercoastered between 260 and 280 for a few years, as I moved "up" in my former company I got an office job and really got out of control. In July of this year I changed jobs and soon became disgusted with myself, I am literally out of breath every morning when I walk up the stairs.

So January 1, I went crazy. I got as intense as a Gazelle on the plains and have been trying my best to not only lose weight but also get in better shape.

So there is my 30 second back story, here are the numbers
January 1 - 298lbs (I never hit 300, that was always a barrier for me) 44" pants are hard to button but I refuse to go bigger

Today, I am 275 and have dropped ~ 1 pants size. basically my 44s are loose now and 42s are still too uncomfortable to wear everyday.

I have been very inspired reading the progress of everyone here, and hope that my updates will #1 keep me accountable to someonee other than the mirror and scale, and #2 mayeb encourage others.

Wish me luck

[Ksyrup]

Congrats on the good start. I intend to stick around to encourage others and keep myself accountable as well. I'm not out of the woods by a long shot.

[CU Tiger]

I guess the two things I didnt mention were goals and methodology.

Goals I have a long term goal of 235lbs.
While only 6'-6'1" that is actually a slender weight for me due to my ridiculous frame structure. I can not buy off the rack dress shirts its so bad. My neck measures 19.5" and I dont have a turkey neck its actually the only slender part of me. And to get a jacket across my shoulders I need a size 58 or 60 tailored down to a normal 52 coat at the waist.

I also have interim goals to be at 270 by March 1 and then lose a minimum of 5lbs/month moving forward.

Methodology
I am doing a low calorie low carb combo. Only I am eating only lean meats. Turkey, chicken, fish, pork and an occaisonal piece of red meat. And keeping my caloic intake around 1500/day.

I am drink roughly 2 gallons of water per day.

I have been weighing myself every day to track the previous days progress (I find this to be very helpful)

And running and gym 3 days/ week and playing with kids and walking with he wife the other 4.

My long term concern is that I really dont see this diet lasting forever(the exercise and health consciousness probably will), and I will need to be very careful when I begin to reintroduce carbs to my body (I literally currently subsit on lean meats, occaisonal cheese, and protein shakes Im talking less than 10 carbs per day) to not regain weight. But I will cross that bridge when the time arrives. For now the primary concern is shredding fat.

Alright I am done, back to work for me

[duckman]

Week 3
Stats
Starting weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Previous Weight (02/18/07): 222.0
Current Weight (02/25/07): 216.5 (-9)

Really didn't do much because of a cold, but I still managed to lose weight. Probably water weight, but I'll take it. I only went to the gym on Tuesday, but my cold was too bad to go another day. I hope none of the weight comes back.

[hoopsguy]

So Feb has been a tough weight loss month for me. After getting down to about 179 (down ten pounds from max) I hit a wall for a few weeks. I wanted to be at 175 for my birthday just because it seemed like a nice even number, but recognized I would probably have to make a couple of sacrifices to do so.

1.) Portion control - applied this to breakfast as well (didn't realize how many calories were in OJ!) as dinner and more strictly across the board
2.) Introducing some lifting to cardio workouts (treadmill)
3.) No booze for the final two weeks

Early results are promising, as I'm now down to about 176.5 after not being able to move the needle for three or so weeks. It was also nice when I was shopping for pants last weekend that I could look at stuff in a 33" waist again - would like to get back to the 32" stuff that I have in my closet by this summer.

[NevStar]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 417
Current Weight (2/26): 415 (-2)
Total Weight Lost: 30

Same as the last few weeks, I've done pretty well Mon thru Fri, then eat like a bear getting ready to hibernate during the weekend. The weight is still going down, but I'd like to see it dropping a little faster.

[CU Tiger]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 298
Last Week's Weight: 275
Current Weight (2/26): 275 (0)
Total Weight Lost: 23lbs


Well As of Friday I was at a low of 272, but a rough weekend sent me back to last weeks starting point. Need more discipline, I suppose.

Errr.... The first week I post and the first no progress week of the year.

[Greyroofoo]

Last Week: 162.4
This Week: 160.0 (-2.4)

Same old story

[nilodor]

3.) No booze for the final two weeks



I think this is a huge one. One of my old highschool friends was a casual drinker and a little bit drinker and had problems controlling his weight. Late last year he ran into some economic issues and had to give up his few beers a week. This was pretty much his only lifestyle change, food consumption wise and he has dropped ~30 pounds from 220 to 190.

Anyways, wish you all well in your weight loss dynasty.

[hoopsguy]

Yeah, my booze intake over two weeks would probably be 1-1.5 bottles of wine or substitute in a six of beer for a bottle, depending on the week. So there isn't a ton of alcohol coming off the table, but these changes have resulted in breaking the plateau I was on and getting me below my goal weight. So now I just have to maintain it for another two days ...

[hoopsguy]

Starting Weight (12/3/2006): 188.8
Today's Weight (3/2/2007): 173.6

I wanted to be below 175 for my 35th birthday, as that was the weight I was at when I started dating my now-wife after my 25th birthday. I'm pretty pleased with making this happen, but I'm sure I could find another 10-15 pounds of lard to trim. So time to set some new goals ...

[duckman]

Week 4
Stats
Starting weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Previous Weight (02/25/07): 216.5
Current Weight (03/04/07): 220.5 (-5)

Took a step backwards because I wasn't well enough to return to the gym. I'm feeling much better now, so I should be able to return to my routine. It's still better than a pound per week, so the first month is not a total loss.

[NevStar]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 415
Current Weight (3/5): 412 (-3)
Total Weight Lost: 33

Nothing particularly eventful to report. I worked out most of the days I was supposed to. I ate well... mostly.

I'm coming to the realization that no more drastic 9 lbs/week lost are forthcoming. I can live with that. I'm happy with 3 lbs/week.

[CU Tiger]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 298
Last Week's Weight: 275
Current Weight (2/26): 270 (5)
Total Weight Lost: 28lbs

I am really puzzled now. I had a bad weekend and even ate pizza for lunch on Sunday, but still the scale says down. Last week I thought I was pretty good and maintained...

Oh well not complaining.

[Greyroofoo]

Last Week: 160.0
This Week: 159.8 (-0.2)

A loss is a loss so I'll take it. I'll be pretty busy this weekend so I'll have limited time for drinking, which will constrict my calorie intake.

[Ksyrup]

Good job, guys!

I've still doing a decent job of maintaining, although I haven't been able to get to the gym like I want to. We've just been so damn busy lately, both at work and at home. We're going tonight, though. On Friday, I leave town for 8 days, so this will be a really good test for me. On the positive side, I'll be at hotels with gyms, so I will have the ability to work out every day if I want. On the negative side, I'll be eating out every freaking meal, so I'll need to really watch what I indulge in. I'm trying to eat really well this week to make up for what I fear will happen next week. I'm right at 160 as of this morning.

[MacroGuru]

Depression of not finding a job killed me the past month and a half, I am one that tends to eat horrible when depressed and that I did, I haven't jumped above 200 again, but I am peaking right there.

The shocker was going for interviews to Real Estate Brokerages this past week, my dress shirts were tight again, so back on the diet!

Current Weight: 197
Target Weight: 185

I hope to get there with STACK (My Weight Loss Shakes for Breakfast and Lunch) and ACT (My Energy Drink), hitting the gym (30 minutes of HIT type Cardio and 30 minutes of Weights) and eating the healthy dinner.

[duckman]

Week 5
Stats
Starting weight (02/04/07): 225.5
Previous Weight (03/04/07): 220.5
Current Weight (03/11/07): 218.0 (-7.5)

Dropped a good bit of weight this week after recovering from my cold. I didn't go to the gym on Saturday like I planned because I played basketball the day before and was too sore to move. I figured that was plenty of exercise. :)

[CU Tiger]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 298
Last Week's Weight: 270
Current Weight (3/12): 268.5 (1.5)
Total Weight Lost: 29.5lbs

[Greyroofoo]

Last Week: 159.8
This Week: 156.4 (-3.4)

Better this week

[NevStar]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 445
Last Week's Weight: 412
Current Weight (3/13): 412 (0)
Total Weight Lost: 33

[biological warrior]

I've stayed at 170-175ish range for the past 3 months. I think that I've either hit a wall or just my body saying ''thats enough.'' The 170 range has always been my ''healthy'' weight; though it fluctuated down to 155 at times.
Im 5'6'' 170; However, I have those 2 bags of flesh hanging to the sides.

[hoopsguy]

Ran into one of my more direct friends over the weekend. I hadn't seen him in about two months, so the first thing he says to me, "Hey, have you lost weight? Your face doens't look fat anymore!"

Truth be told, I liked that better than getting a compliment from one of my friends who has heard through the grapevine that I lost some weight so gives the obligatory compliment even though he wouldn't have noticed on his own.

So, weight stayed the same for me this week as last week. I just gorged for three days last week on all kinds of tasty, high calorie food as well as birthday cake after every meal. That put four pounds back on that I've managed to burn off again. Hopefully I'll practice a little more moderation for the two NCAA tournament days coming up at the end of this week ...

[CU Tiger]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 298
Last Week's Weight: 268.5
Current Weight (3/12): 266 (2.5)
Total Weight Lost: 32lbs

[Ksyrup]

I'm finally back in the swing of things after 8 days on the road. Eating out and not being able to strictly control what I was eating took its toll, and as a result, I'm going back on a stricter diet for a couple of weeks to get back down below 160. This is where I need to nip it in the bud before I find myself 10-15 pounds beyond where I want to be. From past experience, it becomes a slippery slope once I gain even that little bit to end up 50+ pounds overweight again. But not this time, dammit!

[CU Tiger]

Starting Weight (1/1/07): 298
Last Weight: (3/20) 266
Current Weight (3/29): 262 (4.0)
Total Weight Lost: 36lbs

[Lorena]

You guys are doing soo well!! I've maintained, thank goodness. My "breakfast" is at about 4pm which is a bit late and my "lunch" is around 2am. Dinner is about 6am or so... kinda messes me up at times.

Keep up the good work everyone :)

[Ksyrup]

Good job CU!

I weighed in this morning at 162, which is in the range I want to stay but at little higher than I'd like. I want to be in the 150s, ideally. The wife and kids ae going to Florida for Spring Break on Saturday, so I'll have a week to workout whenever and hopefully be disciplined in what I eat. Tremendous opportunity as well as danger coming in the next week...

[hoopsguy]

I've held my weight steady over the last three weeks. Which isn't terrible, but it is time to get losing weight again. I've set a new goal to shoot for - 165 (down 24 from top weight) and 32" waist (down about 2.5") by the first day of summer. I weighed in at 173.8 this morning, which is about two pounds more than my low, so time to get cracking again.

[Ksyrup]

I've had to spend so much money on clothes (my wife as well, she's down 25 lbs.) the last 3 months, it's not even funny. First, with the move from Florida to Kentucky, I had to get clothes for winter, then I lost a bunch of weight, so I had to buy more heavy clothes that actually fit, and work clothes (a couple of suits, shirts, etc.), and now a whole new spring/summer wardrobe. I don't recall the last time I comfortable fit into a Medium shirt, but it had to be early in high school. I've been wearing Large - if not XL - for longer than I can remember. It blows my mind to be buying Mediums.

[hoopsguy]

I've still got a fraction of my "thin" wardrobe intact, taking up space in the closet. So I would like to have something to show for times I've passed over them while cleaning out the closets, saying I would get back down to that size ...

90% vanity, 10% practicality.

[JeeberD]

Most of y'all probably remember me losing around 25 pounds before my wedding in August. I did it with a combination of eating right and going to the gym four to five times a week. Well, since the wedding I've pretty much gotten back into my old habits. I just weighed myself and I'm back up to 221lbs, 16 pounds or so up from my wedding weight, but not quite back up to where I was at my worst (around 230).

So starting Monday I'm back on the wagon. I'll start eating properly again (which has been a serious weakness...I've been pigging out at work lately) and going to the gym (I've only been a handful of times since August). The biggest hurdle is just getting my butt in there. Before the wedding I was working mostly evenings, so it was easy to get to the gym in the late morning/early afternoon before I had to go to work. Now I work almost exclusively mornings, so if I want to get to the gym I have to either get up at 5am and go in before work, or drag my butt in there after work, when I already have sore feet from walking/running/standing for the previous eight hours. I'm not sure which route I'm going to take...I know my wife would prefer I go in the evenings so that she can go with me, but I prefer going before I'm worn out.

I'm hoping that having some accountability here at FOFC will help me to keep going, as I would like to get back down to the 200 range. It's so strange...I was SO self-motivated before the wedding, but since then I have no willpower. If y'all could keep on my ass about this I would really appreciate it.

Oh, and when I said I would be starting Monday, that means eating well. I have to be at work at 6am on Monday, and after ten hours on my feet I'm certainly not going to be feeling up to going to the gym. So the gym doesn't start until Tuesday.

Thanks, guys!

[Lorena]

Thankfully I've been maintaining. Dunno how I've done that cuz of work and lack of exercise, but I've done it. Ant will join me which will make things much easier on me; the last time we did this together we lost quite a bit of weight so I'm looking forward to it.

Exercise will be a little difficult for me, but I'm gonna try going in the morning right after work (6am). This will mean that I will either get Larissa ready and drive her to school, or Ant will get her ready by the time I come home so I can walk her to the bus stop.

'Til next week.

[JeeberD]

This week went pretty damn well. I stopped eating crap at work and instead started eating lighter dishes or minestrone soup for lunch, cut my portions down, cut out the booze ( :( ), and made it to the gym three times this week for cardio. The only times I slipped were Saturday night when I had a big glass of Bailey's and Sunday when the wife and I went to a family friend's house for Easter dinner. There's no way I could turn down ham, potatoes, and birthday cake.

My starting weight last Monday was 221.5. I started losing weight pretty quickly, and am very happy with my progress so far. This morning I weighed in at 216.0...a 5.5 pound loss! I probably won't be able to keep up this pace, but as long as I keep losing a couple of pounds a week I'll be happy. I was originally hoping to lose ten pounds by my 30th birthday (exactly one month from today), but if I keep going it may be closer to 15 or 20...

Starting weight: 221.5
Week 1 (4/9): 216.0

[hoopsguy]

So I had decided to forego a pair of foods over Lent in an effort to kick-start my weight loss, which had reached a plateau. No Chipotle (or any burritos) and no frozen pizzas. All in all, mission accomplished as I lost 8 pounds over the 40 days and was at 170.6 on Easter Sunday. This was with a workout routine that was down probably one day a week from what it was in Jan/Feb (4 days to 3 days).

So, next step is to ratchet up the workout routine back to four days a week this month while continuing to mix in some healthier lunches and weekend meals. I'm pretty optimistic about getting down to 165 by the start of summer.

Ksyrup, figured you might be a good person to ask this question since you have shed quite a few pounds. When you look at yourself now, do you worry about still being "fat"? I've dropped 18 pounds since picking up the treadmill in December, but still feel like I've got a decent amount of weight to lose around my gut. I'm probably think about it 2x as much now as I did back then, even though I recognize that I'm in better shape than I was. Just a weird psychological phenomenon for me ...

[Ksyrup]

Not really, but when I was in the process of getting where I wanted to be, yeah, I was not satisfied with how I looked and didn't think of much else but continuing to lose the weight. Now, my main "worry" is trying to stay within an acceptable range and not allowing myself to slowly gain it all back like has happened several times in the past. But at this point, aside from toning up, I'm not looking at myself in the mirror and worrying that I still look "too fat" (like an anorexic might, I guess). I've just changed my workout routine to incorporate more weights than cardio to help tighten up.

On that note, I had a terrible week while the family was gone last week. I was a complete failure to myself - went back to old habits without having anyone around to rein me in, etc. I'm beating myself up over it, because I can see that the mindset, habits, and compulsions I had successfully controlled since last September are, and will probably always be, lurking and ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness. I restarted a strict diet/exercise regimen on Monday and have already lost 3 pounds of it back, but the reality is that this will always be with me (I fear), so I'm going to have to constantly stay on top of it to keep it under control.

I think this is the part my wife simply doesn't understand - she's lost 25 pounds (all gained since she had 2 kids), anf is easily incorporating back into her diet things like cookies and such without much of a problem. When I insist that I have to be all or nothing, she thinks I'm overreacting. But last week proved it to me more than ever. I guess I knew it, but that was a serious wakeup call. I can see the balancing of good diet and occasional treat is going to be a lifelong battle. And it sucks!

[JeeberD]

Another good week for me, four pounds down. I continued to eat well, however I only made it to the gym twice since my knee has been bothering me since I started working out again. In fact, I think I'm going to take the week off from running this week to see if I can get it completely pain free. I'm still going to go to the gym and do some walking, though.

Starting weight: 221.5
Week 1 (4/9): 216.0
Week 2 (4/16): 212.0

9.5 pound in just two weeks, woohoo!

[Ksyrup]

I've been pleasantly surprised by my ability to "bounce back" from reverting to my old habits. I'm eating normally again and going to the gym, just like it never happened. But it did, which is a problem. At least it seems like I'm able to cope with it when it does, though.

[biological warrior]

Im pretty happy with my weight (170), but want to get down to at least 160. But Id be just as happy to lose body fat. Anyone have a workout routine just to melt those final few pounds away. It seems no matter what I do, that final inch off my wast jsut wont go away...

wais now; measured from the navel is =36'' I've been trying to get it doen to a 34 the past few months, but it seems that no matter what I do, there seems to be no improvement. I think I hit a rut!